


IronDad and Spiderson Oneshots

by Sapphire_of_SHIELD



Category: Domestic Avengers - Fandom, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Humor, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Avengers Family, Avengers Tower, Domestic Avengers, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Heavy Angst, Light Angst, Michelle Jones Is a Good Bro, Michelle Jones is a Little Shit, Ned Leeds is a Good Bro, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker is a Good Bro, Peter Parker is a Little Shit, Peter Parker is a Mess, Post-Avengers (2012), Precious Peter Parker, Protective Avengers, Protective Michelle Jones, Protective Natasha Romanov, Tony Angst, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-01
Updated: 2019-07-27
Packaged: 2019-12-07 17:06:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 25,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18237785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sapphire_of_SHIELD/pseuds/Sapphire_of_SHIELD
Summary: This book will showcase IronDad and SpiderSon oneshots! Plus Mama Spider and Domestic Avengers. :3It will have:- Irondad and Spiderson- Mama Spider- Spideychelle- Pepperony (I could do Stony if I get a request though I personally ship Pepperony more)- Bestest Aunt May- Mr Guy in the Chair Ned Leeds- Domestic Avengers- Whump, angst- F L U F F- Most chapters will have happy endings to ease my Endgame trauma, though if I decide to do a angsty one because I feel like crap there will be a warning at the beginning of the chapter.- AND our B E S T E S T boi, PETER PARKER (Tom Holland one)





	1. Peter and the Video

**Author's Note:**

> Lots of Peter Parker and the Avengers fluff, with some angst!!

A/N:

Okay, everyone, I saw a fanfiction like this and I really liked it so I decided to write my own..

If you have ANY feedback, don't hesitate to share it with me. I'm not like those authors who say "This is my first fanfiction, so go easy on me.." I want all the feedback. I mean, I get it, they don't want to deal with criticism. But I want it to be enjoyable for you all. The whole reason you all are reading this is because you want to have some joy in it. And I want it to be the best it can be. So, any and all feedback and criticism is appreciated. Thank you all and enjoy!

Oh, this is going to be a one - shot book by the way.

 

For this fanfiction, it was inspired by tomdayaxox's one - shot book (the first chapter.) I used some of the words from the original story, but most of it I wrote. I followed the general story line, though. Go read the original - it's amazing.

 

Next up should be a field trip one - shot unless I get a request.

~ ~ ~

Peter, Ned, and MJ headed down to the auditorium for a surely boring presentation. Peter found them a seat in the back because he didn't want to be caught by angry teachers sleeping. He was already in trouble for the number of unexcused absences he had. Hey, when duty calls, you gotta go, right?

That includes sneaking out of bathroom windows to go crime-fighting. Basically, his teachers had learned by now that the code for 'I'm going to have an unexcused absence' is disguised as 'May I use the restroom?'

Spider-Manning had taken its toll on him. He was exhausted because he had stayed up late last night - well, later than usual.. On his way back at 3 in the morning, he had seen a kitten stuck up in a tree, and well, he obviously had to get it down. It took an hour to get it down because the little creature was ferocious and had REALLY sharp claws. Yes, his suit could hold up against come cat's claws, but he didn't want to injure the poor thing. Instead, he had gone to a 24 hour store and gotten some tuna fish to lure the kitten down, and then had to go find its owner.

So, yeah. He had ended up getting back at 5 in the morning, only enough for 2 hours of sleep, and then dragged himself to school. Great. Parker Luck strikes again.

Back to the topic at hand.

Once the three were seated comfortably in the back, with Peter using his hoodie as a pillow, the principal started talking. Peter zoned him out, dozing off almost immediately, only to jerk upright as a voice yelled,

"WHAT THE HELL, PARKER?" (Insert Steve... "LANGUAGE" *cue patriotic PSA music*).

He jerked upright and looked at the screen. On it, in front of his entire school, it said:

 **"A video by Tony Stark, dedicated to Peter Parker."** (A/N: Bold is the voiceover by Tony and italics is the actions happening in the video.)

Peter sat frozen in shock as the whole school's eyes were on him. He knew he should have done something, anything, but he couldn't seem to get the message to his numbed mind. So he just sat there. And watched.

 **"You have everything it takes to be a hero." Came Tony's voice.** _Peter, filming on his phone (How did he even get this footage? Peter wondered.), was climbing the steps to the private plane, asking idiotic questions like: 'Should I go to the bathroom before?' and him saying 'It's my first time on ANY plane.'_ At this, Flash scoffed.

"Hah. Penis Parker is scared of planes!" Hot anger boiled in Peter.

"My parents DIED in a plane crash, Flash. I think I've got every right to be scared." Peter retorted. Flash's face morphed in shock, and Peter himself was sure he would have never talked back had he not been so surprised by the video. He turned his attention back.

_Peter was psyched at the Spider-Man suit in front of him. "This is insane! Insane! Look at this thing, look at the eyes.." Happy just left. "Wait, Happy! I don't understand. Is it - is this for me? Wait, Happy, no, wait - !"_

Flash snorted. "Yeah, dream on, Parker. You're NOT Spider-Man. This is OBVIOUSLY fake." Meanwhile, teachers were running around trying to turn off the video, to no avail.

"Everybody STAY CALM. Parker, my office after the assembly!" The principal ordered. Meanwhile, the video continued and stopped the teachers in their tracks.

Peter glanced up. It was showing Peter and Tony in the car, right before they dropped him off and left.

 _"Heyyyyyy May! What are you wearing? Something skimpy, I hope." Peter gave him an odd glance as he laughed, and it was only a couple of seconds before he composed himself and told him, "Peter, that's inappropriate. Let's try again, you can edit this out later. Okay, 3.. 2 .. 1. Hey May! I just wanted to tell you how well your nephew did at the Stark... Internship. Everyone was impressed."_ The school gaped at Peter. Flash must have broken, because all he could manage was,

"Parker... Internship.. real?" MJ snorted. Teachers were staring at him, obviously shocked by the authenticity of this *cough - PRIVATE - cough* video.

_The screen went black, and then flashed with white._

**"But... It isn't easy. I wanted to protect you from the harsh reality of being a hero... To protect you from yourself."** _The video rolled through shots of Spider-Man saving people's lives. The Washington Monument. The Ferry. Vulture._

**"Because you were - and still are - everything I've ever wanted."** Everyone was shell - shocked that Peter was Spider-Man. They had seen these events - even experienced one. The Decathlon Team look especially shaken up. But even in their surprised state, tears started rolling down their faces at the deep, sincere emotion in the billionaire's voice - a billionaire that was known for not revealing emotion, ever.

_The screen switched to Tony and Pepper._

_"Okay, Pep. Hear me out. In the dream, we had a kid. It was so real. Fluffy brown hair, chocolate brown doe eyes, adorable little child." Pepper gave him a look._

_"So what you're saying is, you want to adopt Peter."_

_"I mean, duh. Isn't it obvious?"_

**"You're always there for the little guy. Friendly, neighborhood, Spider-Man. You even turned down a spot on the Avengers for that! I swear, kid, sometimes you take my advice too seriously."** Peter chuckled a bit at that, remembering how it was originally Tony's idea to stay close to the ground after pulling him out of the lake.

_The screen showed short clips of Spider-Man helping little kids, giving directions, and saving cats from trees (which happened more often than you'd think)._

**"You even helped me when I pushed everyone away. Never giving in. And that put a smile on my face - a lot more times than I'd like, kiddo. I've got a reputation to uphold."** Peter smiled widely, his eyelashes wet but the tears not falling, not yet.

Gasps of surprise were the only sounds in the quiet auditorium as _the screen showed times of Peter and Tony in the labs together, laughing. And then the panic attacks, where Peter grounded him and brought him back to reality._

Everyone was captivated as the camera focused on a time where _Peter had been looking at kids' letters. A genuine smile appeared on his face._

_"Hey! This is mine. Remember the little kid from the Stark Expo, with the Hammer Drones? And I lifted up my toy Iron Man gauntlet and you swooped down and saved me? You said 'Nice work, kid.'" Peter was grinning like a maniac while Tony looked delighted._

_"That was you?" Peter simply laughed. He said nothing. He didn't need to._

**"But I let you down, kid. I brought you to THIS horrible place."** _The screen showed the barren landscape of Titan, and how Spider-Man had been dragged into the spaceship before it disappeared._

Everyone stared at him. Now they understood why Peter had been missing, even after the snap was reversed.

He had to get off of an alien planet.

 **"I tried to protect you."** The school watched with captivation as _the Iron Spider suit folded perfectly around Peter's falling form._

 **"But in the end, I still failed you, Underoos."** the tears broke out of Peter's eyes at this statement.

The screen showed clips of _Spider-Man fighting Thanos._ The school looked shocked and sickened as they saw their classmate get _picked up and thrown somewhere like an unneeded object by the shriveled ugly purple grape._

But one scene got to them all and made sure they were all weeping and crying like broken maniacs.

Peter's death.

Or, more accurately, 'Peter turning into dryer lint' as he had dubbed it. Okay, maybe not more accurate. But he wasn't TECHNICALLY dead, sooooo....

_"Mr. Stark?" Everyone saw as Tony turned around, dreading what would happen next. They could see how his eyes grew heavy as he knew, he KNEW, what would happen next._

_"I don't feel so good."_ (A/N: Sue me.)

_"I don- I don't know what's happening." They watched as he limped and staggered into Tony's arms._

_"You're alright." Tony said, even as his eyes conveyed a different story. He knew Peter was far, FAR from alright._

_"I don't want to go, Mr. Stark!" the teen cried out,_ piercing everybody who was in the room's heart.

 _"Please... please.. I don't wanna go..."_ they watched in horror as their classmate literally begged Tony Stark, IRON MAN, to help him, to let him live... and he couldn't do anything. He was just as helpless as any other average human being.

For once, he was on their level.

They watched as _Tony slowly lowered him to the ground._

They watched as _he whispered, "I'm sorry."_

They watched as _he turned to dust._

The school furiously wiped their eyes, not knowing how they were so heartbroken watching the death of someone that they had no acquaintance with, couldn't care less about, an hour ago.

Maybe they just needed to see it from a different perspective.

 **"Peter... If you ever see this video... If I'm not there to show it to you... just remember... This is who you are to the world."**

_Flashes showed of him making people's lives better, both as Peter Parker and as Spider-Man._

**"To the Avengers."** _Clips showed of Prank Wars, of attempts to make breakfast, of missions together._

 **"To me."** _The screen projected images and videos of him laughing with Tony in the lab, of picking him up when he feels down and grounding him when his head is in the clouds._

_The video wrapped up showing off Peter's best moments with Tony's emotional voice narrating it all as he described who he was to everyone._

**"You are a hero."**

_It showed Peter saving Natasha's life - taking a bullet for her without hesitation._ (A/N: just pretend they made up and the Avengers are a whole team again. Yes, I know, it doesn't match with Infinity War and stuff, but whatever.)

**"A genius."**

_It showed Peter making his web fluid while Tony and Bruce stood there looking baffled._

**"An avenger."**

_It showed him fighting alongside the team, holding his own, proving his worth._

**"You are my son."**

_It showed a picture with Tony's arm draped around Peter's shoulders while he smiled down at Peter and he grinned up at Tony._

**"Peter Parker..."**

 

There was a moment of silence. Then...

**"I love you, kid."**

The video stopped. Everyone was gaping with tears slipping down their faces.

Peter? Oh, no. He was way past the tear - slipping phase. The tears were streaming down his face. But did he care?

No. Not in the slightest.

He didn't care about the fact that the world just found out he's Spider-Man.

He didn't care about the fact that his school had just seen his most embarrassing moments.

He didn't care about the fact that the world knew Tony Stark was his guardian.

Because Tony Stark had just called Peter his son.

Tony was his father.

So he just sat there with his school, oxygen-deprived from not breathing properly, in silence, waiting for something, anything, to happen.

And at that moment Iron Man burst in, looking as worried as a metal faceplate can look. What he was confronted with was NOT what he had expected. When F.R.I.D.A.Y. alerted him that Peter's heart rate had increased and that he was crying, Tony immediately rushed here.

What he was not expecting was a room full of silent teenagers and teachers, all crying. Then he looked at the screen and saw that the video had been paused on the last words. "I love you, kid."

...Oh.

Tony scanned the room for Peter, wanting - no, needing - to know what he thought. His eyes caught sight of Peter in the back row, and his armor retracted into his fake arc reactor.

Peter stumbled towards Tony and enveloped him in a bone-crushing hug as Tony smiled into the mop of curly brown hair.

"Thank you..." Peter said, loud enough for the whole school to hear. And the next word was only slightly quieter and was uttered after only a second of hesitation.

 

"...Dad."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know, I'm superrrrr cheesy. Uh... my next ones get better. This I wrote like 2 years ago... I have a Wattpad account if you're particularly inclined to find it... it's @Sapphire_of_shield... and I have a FF.net account of @Sapphire-of-SHIELD... pretty much the same stuff is on it though.


	2. Evolve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It can be said that Tony Stark can evolve...  
> but can he evolve to this?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just a short oneshot I quickly wrote up in the 10 minute time period I had between taking a practice SAT test and while it was being graded... that being said, it obviously isn't very good- given that I had 10 minutes oof. Still, I hope you like it!
> 
>  
> 
> Also, this deals with... the s n a p p e n i n g. But don't worry- the next chapter will be the field trip as requested! It's just a longer chapter than this one so I figured it'd be better to post a short one than nothing.

It can be said that Tony Stark evolved to best fit into his environment. He didn't dwell on past mistakes; he moved on, he fixed things, just like the mechanic he was.

After he was trapped in the Afghanistan cave with no way of finding him, he added a GPS to Spider-Man's suit.

After he almost froze in the snow after crashing in Tennessee during the whole Mandarin thing, he added a heater to Spidey's suit.

After his cannons didn't work against Hulk when Wanda brainwashed him, he upgraded to bigger nanite cannons.

After Ant-Man damaged his suit by sliding in between the armor plating in the airport battle in Leipzig, he upgraded to nanotechnology.

After he couldn't catch up to Cap's plane escaping with Bucky in Leipzig, he added more foot thrusters.

After Rhodey fell without protection and became paralyzed, he added a parachute to Spidey's suit.

After his suit became unstable while trying to escape the Mandarin, he added flight stabilizers to the nanite suit.

After he had trouble with his aim in Siberia fighting against Cap, he added heat-seeking missiles.

And, after he lost against Cap in hand to hand combat in Siberia, he got better.

He _evolved._

However, as Tony sat up from the cold, hard ground of Titan, clutching the remains of the boy he had begun to think of as his son, he doubted all this. After all, what was the point of evolving if you didn't get better? And maybe he had gotten better, but it wasn't enough.

Wasn't enough to save Peter.

The wind picked up and swirled dust around in circles, and in it, Tony believed that he could perhaps see Peter's smile in there- if he just looked closely enough.

And with that, his resolve hardened, and he stood up, stumbling a bit from the excruciating stab wound in his side, but never wavering. He would get Peter back.

Whatever it takes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof sorry only 437 words for 10 minutes of writing. Ah well.


	3. Field Trip pt. 1 - the Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter's class has a field trip to the MET at the same time Tony takes the Avengers...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dundunnanah!
> 
> Here is the classical field trip WITH A TWIST, as promised. Well, pt 1 of it.
> 
> I figured you all would be bored of the classical Stark Tower Field Trip trope, sooo I did something slightly different.
> 
> Basically, Peter's class has a trip to the MET at the same time Tony takes the Avengers to visit.
> 
> I can do a normal field trip oneshot later if y'all would prefer it. After this, I'm working on a really long oneshot (10,000+ words) about the Avengers being turned into high schoolers and having to go to Peter's high school.
> 
> But right now are my finals. 
> 
> 2 down, 4 more to go.

Peter cocked his head to the side in confusion as he watched Natasha perform a flawlessly executed dance. At the moment, her right leg was pointing straight up at a 180-degree angle, and she gracefully swept it back down, landing in a 2nd position, doing a pirouette, landing agian, and going into a demi-plie before stopping in high fifth. Peter attempted this, staggering a bit at the unfamiliar motions but staying balanced nonetheless. Nat calculated the moves and when he finished, she walked up to him.

"You have great balance and flexibility," she said, not bothering to sugar coat anything and instead getting straight to the point. It was one of the things Peter appreciated about her. "You can utilize that to your ability, as it can be really helpful. However, you have to get better at the moves, because if the mind doesn't know, the body won't know," she instructed, stepping back out of his way. "Try again."

He tried 47 more times in a row- his spider stamina really helped out with that one- but he eventually paused, throat dry as if he had run 20 miles without a break. Nat tossed a water bottle at the back of his head, and he caught it before unscrewing it and gulping half of it down. The other half he dumped on his head and gave a sigh of relief as the cool water trickled down his face and the back of his neck.

He closed his eyes in bliss at the cool reprieve and didn't notice the towel flung his way- nor did his senses warn him- until it hit him in the face softly. He gave a muffled grunt but didn't open his eyes, hearing Nat's telltale chuckle and knowing she was the one who threw it. He heard her steps heading towards him and knew the moment she walked off the mat and onto the linoleum floor of the training room by the sound of her footsteps tapping rather than scuffling against the floor. 

She stopped in front of him and he opened his eyes, sweat trickling from his forehead mixing with the water he dumped on his head to create a mixture that stung his eyes. He blinked rapidly and then squinted up at her as she came into his field of vision.

"I think we're done for the day." she remarked as she noted his body splayed out across the cool metal bench.

"Mhmmf." Peter agreed. Nat shook her head, a smile twitching at the corners of her lips as she nudged his shoulder.

"C'mon, bud, you gotta get showered and ready for dinner. And remember, you have school tomorrow. Gotta get some sleep."

"Mmmph." he groaned as he realized it was a Sunday evening and that Monday was tomorrow.

"What was that, didn't catch it," Natasha said lightly. Peter shot her a playful glare.

"Sleep is for the weak," he muttered in true teenage fashion.

Nat rolled her eyes. "You're looking pretty weak there, Паук," she said, gesturing to his collapsed body on the bench. He groaned and rolled over, sitting up. Every muscle screamed in protest; muscles he didn't even know he _had_ protested.

"Ugh," he said. "Why do I feel like I ran a 50-mile marathon or sparred one on one with Thor?" he asked. "Aren't I supposed to have super strength and healing and stamina and stuff?" he stretched his legs and winced.

Natasha smirked. "That's what's so deceiving about dance," she said. "Doesn't seem like a particularly vigorous activity, yet you have to utilize your brain, strength, stamina, agility, and speed all at once. The perfect training for you."

Peter popped his neck. "Yeah, I can feel the stretch," he muttered, looking up at her. "I will admit, it does help with my reflexes while on patrol." He thought back to just yesterday when he had dodged a bullet because of his dancing lessons with Nat; a bullet he'd never have been able to dodge before.

Of course, he hadn't told the Avengers that; they'd freak out- not outright grounding him or anything, of course; they knew he'd just sneak out and get into more trouble than before. They had their own ways of trying to keep him safe.

Tony would seem completely cool on the outside and pretend it's fine while simultaneously adding 15 new protocols to the suit.

Steve would make sure he got enough food to sustain him, especially if he had an injury so his healing factor would work (not that he didn't do that anyway).

Bruce would offer to fiddle in the lab with Peter and show him the latest experiment he was working on (though if Peter asked he'd be welcome anytime).

Thor would sit him down and tell him about Asgardian battles and the misadventures and pranks of his brother Loki (which Peter found fascinating and definitely wasn't taking notes to prank the Avengers later on. Most of them involved stabbing, though...)

Clint would browse his notebook of pranks and help him set them up, taking the blame as well if the wrong person *cough cough* Nat got caught in them. He made the ultimate sacrifice. For this reason, he had earned the Coolest Uncle (TM) title, though Peter still loved them all equally and the whole 'familial' thing had never really been discussed; they saw each other as family but didn't call each other 'uncle' 'aunt' 'dad' or 'nephew'. It was an unspoken thing.

And Nat would help him train to get better, making sure he never made the same mistake twice. The others had helped, but Nat was the one who had ultimately sharpened his skills with her quiet and underlying- but still present- encouragement and straightforward teachings.

Needless to say, crime had decreased even more, and people were amazed at how clumsy past Spider-Man seemed now, equipped with new fighting skills. Peter watched old documentaries of himself fighting and winced every time he made a mistake; his face was scrunched up for the entirety of the video. It was amazing to see just how far he had progressed; people were using his improvement for advertisements now. By far the weirdest one he'd seen was:

"Want to regain your hairline as quickly as Spider-Man's skills have improved? Take Hair-gro!"

(i hAvE nO cLuE I juSt mAdE tHAT uP-)

Not sure how he felt about that one.

But even seeing people's reactions...

it really shone a light on how people believed famous people to be perfect, invincible.

Indestructible.

But they weren't.

They're _human._

Regardless, Nat had helped immensely; even if it was incredibly awkward if he was in school and a teacher compared the class to getting better as fast as Spider-Man. Every time that happened, Ned would shoot him a sideways glance and snicker as Peter made his signature face of the day.

"Earth to Паук," Natasha said, and Peter realized he was still sitting on the bench. 

"Oh, whoops, sorry Nat. Dozed off for a second there," he said.

"I can see that," she observed dryly.

He chuckled. "Guess I just need some sleep?" he tried.

Natasha smirked. "I thought sleep was for the weak?"

Peter groaned in frustration, shoving her lightly and receiving a similar nudge in turn. "Aaah." he hissed as he put weight on his sore muscles. Natasha gave his back a pat.

"You'll get used to the burn."

"Can't wait."

~ ~ ~

3 hours later, Peter was freshly showered and fed and was just flopped out across his bed, ready to go to sleep.

He yawned.

 _Huh, I guess I am tired..._ he thought, about to drift off.

As he allowed sleep to claim him, there was a nagging voice at the back of his mind telling him that he was forgetting something tomorrow... something important...

He shut the voice off and was out like a light.

~ ~ ~

He was awoken the next morning with beautiful music in his ears.

Well- close enough.

If what he calls 'beautiful music' is a shout of "YEET" and an empty water bottle (the one Nat had given him last night) thrown at his head.

He fell out of his bed and groaned, muscles stiff from his enhanced healing. Then he registered what exactly had woken him, and he jumped up, muscle aches and fatigue forgotten.

"SHURI!" he shouted, jumping across his bed to wrap her in a hug.

T'Challa poked his head in, regarding Shuri disapprovingly. "I thought I told you not to wake him up."

Peter glanced at the clock and saw it was 4:45 AM; he didn't have to be up for another 2 hours and 15 minutes.

Regardless, seeing his meme-ing buddy erased all tiredness from his bones.

"But I was bored." Shuri shrugged, Wakandan accent thick in her voice. T'Challa sighed and looked exactly like the weary king he was.

"We've been here for 15 minutes. How can you be bored when you literally entertain yourself for hours on end in your lab, or with those... memes?"

"These labs don't have vibranium," Shuri said, feigning sadness. "And besides, memes are no good to look at if you can't share the good ones with people who actually understand!"

"And I don't _want_ to understand." Tony's voice called from down the hall, and Peter shook his head at the billionaire pulling another all-nighter for his latest invention.

He turned his attention back to T'Challa. "It's okay, Mr. Black Panther King T'Challa, sir. I want to see Shuri no matter the hour."

T'Challa sighed. "Peter, I've told you every single time we come here to just call me T'Challa-" he cut off as he saw Shuri trying to hold in her laughter. "Wait a minute, you put him up to this, didn't you?" Shuri dissolved in laughter, with Peter following close behind.

"It's been 2 years and you hadn't figured it out yet." Shuri cackled, holding her stomach as T'Challa sighed yet again, turning his eyes upwards as if to draw strength from the ancestors. She sat up with her hand out to Peter, beckoning.

"Pay up, I said it would take this long," she said, smirking. Peter sighed, going to his desk and drawing out money, slapping it into her palm and turning to T'Challa, who looked like he wanted to jump off a cliff.

"I had more faith in your intelligence than this," Peter said, acting mock betrayed.

Then he seemed to realize that he had basically just called the King of Wakanda dumb, and looked beyond mortified as T'Challa raised an eyebrow at him.

"I- uh, sorry, that's not what I meant T'Challa-" he stuttered out, but cut himself off as the king smiled and Shuri dissolved into yet another fit of laughter.

"You finally called me T'Challa, so all's forgiven." the King said with a smile. "Besides, you don't think I've heard worse from her?" he asked, nodding at the heap of Shuri on the floor. Peter still had a layer of red coating his cheeks, but he grinned, and Tony came in, clapping Peter's back.

"That's my boy," he said before looking at the ceiling. "Friday, you got that on recording, right?" he confirmed.

"Indeed, Boss."

Peter opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by the sound of Natasha's voice from the other room.

"GO THE FUCK TO SLEEP."

~ ~ ~

Peter and Shuri, of course, did not go to sleep, instead sneaking off to Peter's lab and building stuff until 6:45.

Peter glanced at the clock and groaned.

"Ugh I have to get ready for school and go eat breakfast or Steve will have my ass for not taking care of myself or whatever," Peter said. "How long are you going to be here?"

"All week!" Shuri said.

"No way, that's longer than you've ever stayed!" Peter said, referring to the 1 or 2-day visits they usually received. 

"I know!" Shuri said. "Nothing's really happening right now so Mother said we could stay unless there was an emergency."

"That's great I should totally escape school and come hang out with you," Peter said, while packing up the schoolwork strewn about his workspace and putting it in his bag. "It's not like it's new or stuff I couldn't learn from one of the Avengers, anyway. Clint is surprisingly adept at math."

"American school systems are really torture methods in disguise," Shuri said, lying flat on one of the work tables and staring at the ceiling.

"And they don't even teach us anything useful anyway. Like, teach us how to do taxes or manage a real estate or something-"

"It's a free real estate." Shuri interrupted, still staring at the ceiling as Peter packed his bag.

"Instead all they teach us is how to make a construction of a circle- ah, shit."

At the curse, Shuri turned on her side to glance at Peter, who was staring at a sheet of paper with mild horror.

"What's the date?" he asked.

"Uhhh, the 4th, why?" she responded.

He released another string of expletives, and now she was really curious, rolling off the table to walk over to him and peer over his shoulder at the paper he held.

"I have a field trip to the MET today," he said, passing the paper over and hurriedly shoving more books into his bag after a quick glance at the clock revealed it was 6:57. "And MJ will kick my ass if I'm late." he threw the last words over his shoulder as he dashed up the stairs to shove Steve's breakfast in his mouth before dashing out the door (even though he had woken up 2 hours early he _still_ managed to be late).

Shuri was left with the information sheet in her hands, and a plan began to form...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed it and look out for pt 2 in around a week once I finally finish finals!
> 
> Let me know what you thought of this twist- I figured it might be a bit more interesting than the classic cliche trip.


	4. To Save a Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Actually, I got sudden inspiration for this and it's almost 1 AM but whatever sleep is for the weak this took me 2 minutes to type up soooo might as well share it here.
> 
> It's angsty as fuck because that's my life.
> 
> The next chapter will be the field trip part 2.
> 
> I apologize for the pain.

To save a life is a wonderful thing.

To lose a life, however, that weighs on you.

Much heavier than saving 100 people.

1000.

Hell, even 1,000,000.

That one person will always haunt you.

These are the ghosts that haunt Tony Stark.

He's lost countless people, hidden the pain, put on a cocky, arrogant expression for everyone else.

They say the eyes are the window to the soul.

If you shadow that window, do you have a soul?

Or does the person in question simply see what they want to see - their own face reflected back at them?

Perhaps the only one who understood was Natasha. She had killed hundreds. Yet...

Her eyes were mirrors.

One did not see her, the true her; they only saw themselves.

Isn't that what everyone wants to see?

To have everyone be like them?

But every so often, that perfect mirror breaks, and you can see the devil housed in them.

They have no room for petty demons.

And then the mirror is back, the mask is replaced, and no one can tell the difference.

Yes, saving a life is a wonderful thing.

But losing one...

a part of you dies with them.

And you can never get it back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hahaha suffer.
> 
> Oof angst no idea where this came from sorry it's bad but I had sudden inspiration-
> 
> field trip pt 2 out in a week or so. :)
> 
> bYE-


	5. Field Trip pt. 2 - the Journey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pt 2 of Field Trip pt 1 - the Plan. There are going to be 3 parts to this Field Trip story.

The A/N is at the bottom cuz let's be honest, no one reads the ones at the top.

~ ~ ~

As Shuri stared at the paper in her hands, her brother poked his head in the door.

"Please don't blow up the lab while Peter is gone." he paused just before he was about to turn around. "Or while he's here, for that matter." Shuri pouted.

"That was one time, brother. One time."

"One time was enough." T'Challa murmured. He turned around to leave again before a final thought hit him. "And please don't come charging upstairs like a wild animal in 15 minutes when you get bored like you did this morning." with that he turned and jogged up the stairs.

Shuri would have made a snide remark like 'you wish,' except that her attention was fully on the sheet of paper again and her idea formed completely in her head. She sat in her seat and smirked. She knew exactly what she was going to do. Glancing at the clock, she saw that her planning had only taken 13 minutes. In precisely 2 minutes she would charge up the stairs like a wild animal to propose her idea just to annoy T'Challa.

~ ~ ~

Sure enough, right at the 15-minute mark, Shuri darted up the stairs, skidded into the kitchen (almost falling over in the process), and promptly yelled: "I have an idea!"

Tony, who was drinking coffee, jumped in surprise at her sudden appearance, still half asleep. The only reason he didn't end up spilling it everywhere is because Peter acted the same way every morning and he'd become quite adept at keeping the hand holding his coffee still.

The rest of the Avengers, who had been eating breakfast, looked up at Shuri. T'Challa sighed for the millionth time that day (definitely not his last though; he knew that much). 

"I should've known." he murmured. Then he shot her a suspicious glance; Shuri never looked this happy whenever Peter was gone at school while they were visiting. She usually moped around like a wet rat.

"Can we go to the MET?" Shuri asked excitedly, bouncing on her toes. If T'Challa wasn't suspicious before, he definitely was now. Shuri _hated_ museums and would always complain and drag her feet on the rare occasions she was forced to go.

Tony seemed surprised, too; he would've thought that she'd wanted to stay in the labs like she usually did when she visited.

"... sure?" he said uncertainly. Shuri caught the question in the man's voice and she blinked as innocently as she could.

"It's just that I normally spend my time in the Tower when I visit, and I never really get to see New York; I can work in the labs whenever I want, but I can't get such a rare and valuable cultural experience in here," she said, pouring earnestness into her voice. The others might have bought it, but T'Challa had lived through years of her bullshitting her way out of things and wasn't about to sit through this now.

"Mhm, I'm not buying it," T'Challa said, standing up and heading over to his little sister, who ducked her head down. That just cemented the knowledge of her lying to him; whenever she truly believed something she said, she would always look him straight in the eyes with her head up like the proud person she was. When she was lying, she could never look him in the face.

"It's fine." Tony tried to reassure the man. "It's really no trouble; I mean, I donated half the stuff they have in there anyway-"

T'Challa shook his head. "No, I mean the reason why she wants to go there. There's something more that she's not telling us. I've lived with her long enough to know that." He raised his eyebrow and waited, standing in front of her with his arms crossed yet in a relaxed, non-threatening pose so she knew he was just disappointed in her lying, not angry. She scuffed her feet, finding her shoes very interesting all of a sudden and feeling everyone's eyes boring into her.

 _Darn it._ She thought. _I can never lie to him successfully._

For some reason, T'Challa's disappointment in her always hurt more than her parents' or anyone elses' ever did. Don't get her wrong; she loved her father immensely while he was alive and loved her mother as well, but they were higher than her; they were adults, and kids _always_ rebelled against adults and got in trouble _sometimes._ But with T'Challa it was different. Maybe it was the fact that they grew up together; he'd always been her biggest supporter- he still was- and always expressed his pride in her openly. It made her feel like she could do anything with him on her side, which perhaps was why it stung a little every time she saw a disappointed look on his face directed at her.

She sighed, opting to tell the truth and maybe stop the disappointed look and the pang of guilt in her chest. "Peter's class has a field trip there, and I wanted to see him." she murmured. There was a pause, and she looked up to see a surprised look on T'Challa's face.

"That's it?" he asked.

Shuri shot him a confused glance. "What do you mean 'that's it'?" 

"I thought you got some random lead on some criminal and wanted to go fight him!" T'Challa said. Shuri scrunched up her face, remembering the time she had done that.

It had not ended well.

"No, I just wanted to see my friend," Shuri said, a bit of sadness in her tone. "I never get the opportunity to."

A look of thoughtfulness and sadness as well crossed over her brother's face as he realized what kind of life she really led; most of the time she spent in the lab, and her only true friend was Peter, given how she was a princess and no one in Wakanda was really allowed to be friends with her due to her rank. He was busy leading a country and he had Okoye and Nakia to talk to, but Shuri... Shuri was really in her own lonely position. No wonder she was always so excited to see Peter; she only really knew him, T'Challa Okoye, and their mother- the latter three mostly preoccupied with running a kingdom.

"I hadn't realized that," T'Challa said softly. "Sorry." Sorry for what, exactly?

Not noticing how lonely she'd been, perhaps?

Not giving her more opportunities to make friends?

Perhaps not spending as much time as he should have with her?

All three?

More?

The silence was broken by a cough and a: "So we're all going to the MET and embarrassing Pete in front of his entire class? I'm down for it." Clint said, grinning, and pretty soon they all were grinning as well, his laugh contagious.

"Sounds like a plan," Nat said, shooting a rare smile in Shuri's direction (of course she was the only one to understand the depth of the situation).

And if T'Challa pulled Shuri into a hug, and if she didn't protest like she usually did, instead gripping him even tighter than normal, well...

no one needed to know.

~ ~ ~

Meanwhile, Peter had slowed down from his rapid sprint out of the Tower. He was almost to the school, and thanks to his super speed, had managed to grab back the time he had lost in being late. Now he would be on time and he could save himself a verbal ass-kicking from MJ.

As he jogged into the school's parking lot, he spotted the sleek coach bus waiting for students to file on it, and he blinked in surprise. At first, he thought Tony had a part in this, and a pang of panic hit his chest because if Tony did this then he _knew_ about the trip. However, after about 2 seconds of pure panic, he noticed the print of 'Thompson Enterprises' on the side of the bus.

Ah, so it had been Flash's parents who donated a company bus for this trip.

It actually made sense; contrary to what most people would believe, given Flash's attitude, his parents were very nice and welcoming people. They donated most of their money to charity and didn't own over-expensive cars or live in an obnoxious house, and they gave quite a lot in donations to Midtown Tech to renovate labs and pay for school supplies.

Peter honestly couldn't understand how Flash, raised in such a warm environment, could be so...

mean.

Maybe he would grow out of it; as his dad used to joke about what he was like in high school, and it didn't sound too far off from how Flash was now.

The boy shook these thoughts off as he climbed the 3 steps into the sleek gray bus, smiling in greeting to his history teacher, Mr. McD. 

"Ah, Mr. Parker!" the man greeted. "Finally on time for once, I see?"

Peter chuckled slightly, ruffling his hair sheepishly. "Uh... sorry?" he offered a grin.

Mr. McD just waved him off. "No time to be sorry about that when we can learn about Mesopotamia today! Ah, yes, the Fertile Crescent- do you remember what two rivers aided in the Mesopotamian civilization's growth?"

"Uhhhhh..." Peter wracked his brain for answers, surprised by the impromptu quiz, but his teacher barreled on.

"The Tigris and Euphrates rivers!" McD exclaimed. "I always remembered them by thinking 'you afraid of the tiger' because eu-phraid of the tiger... The Euphrates and Tigris rivers."

"Huh, I hadn't thought of it that way," Peter said, blinking. That might just help with his next test. (Sure enough, it did.)

McD's eyes stretched wide as he looked behind Peter at the impatient line of students waiting to get on the bus. He quickly shooed Peter in, and Peter chuckled at his eccentric history teacher's antics before finding a seat and placing his bag down for Ned to sit next to him when he arrived.

It only took about a minute before he heard shuffling and a surprised exclamation. He looked up and Ned was standing there, looking surprised that he got here first. He checked his watch, then looked at Peter, then checked his watch again.

"Is my watch broken? Am I hallucinating? _Is Peter Parker_ **early** _for once_?" Ned asked, sarcasm and humor dripping from his voice. Peter chuckled and picked up his bag, throwing it playfully at Ned, who caught it.

____"Hahaha, my reflexes are getting better!" Ned said, holding the bag above his head like a trophy. Peter smirked._ _ _ _

____"O-ooh, was that a _challenge_ , Ned?" he swiped upwards, just about to snatch the bag back from his best friend, but slender, light brown fingers plucked it away before he could have a chance to. Both friends turned to look at the figure in surprise. MJ shot them a bored look, graced with a barely perceptible smirk, and twirled the bag around in her hands._ _ _ _

____"My reflexes are better than either of yours, losers," she commented._ _ _ _

____"Aw, no fair MJ, we didn't know you were even here," Ned said, prompting another smirk from the girl._ _ _ _

____"Always be prepared for anything," MJ said. "Like this." Lightning-fast, she unzipped the bag and peered inside at its contents. Peter's eyes widened, because _oh shit_ , his suit was in there-_ _ _ _

____MJ looked up at his frightened expression, shook her head, sighed, and said. "Case in point. You really think I didn't know, Parker? Or do you just think I'm that dumb?"_ _ _ _

____"Uhhhhhh..." Peter said. "Which option will let me live longer?"_ _ _ _

____"Not tossing your bag around like an idiot where anyone can snatch it and look inside," MJ said pointedly, looking at the two boys. "And also not leaving your backpacks webbed around the city with your _school books and name inside_ ," she said. Peter startled._ _ _ _

____"How did you-"_ _ _ _

____"I told you, I'm observant. You show up with a different backpack, like... 15 times a month."_ _ _ _

____"I do not-"_ _ _ _

____"Mhm." she made a skeptical noise in the back of her throat, settling into the bus seat in front of them, Peter's bag nestled under her arm. "I'm keeping this to prevent disaster from occurring, although it's kind of impossible seeing as you both actively seek out danger..." she opened her book- something about bondage or something, Peter didn't really catch the title- and started to read._ _ _ _

____"Wha- but- my phone is-" he started to protest weakly, but his phone was tossed into his lap. He opened his mouth again, but barely a second later, his earbuds plopped into his lap as well._ _ _ _

____"Thanks, MJ." he murmured, turning to Ned and starting to chat, not noticing MJ's eyes lingering on his face momentarily before turning back to her book._ _ _ _

____~ ~ ~_ _ _ _

____The Avengers were bickering over which cars to take._ _ _ _

____"But if we show up in a really fancy car we'll give ourselves away before the fun even starts." Natasha points out smoothly._ _ _ _

____"Well, when you put it that way..." Tony said, moving away from his Audi to a cheaper but still ridiculously expensive car, opening the door and hopping in. "Let's go embarrass Spider-boy."_ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SORRY WE'RE STILL NOT TO THE ACTUAL FIELD TRIP YET THAT'S THE NEXT ONE-
> 
> Do you think I got their characters right I really tried buuuuut I'm bad at this...
> 
> Well, only 3 more finals hooray and then I'm f r e e-
> 
> the scene with Shuri tilted into a little bit more than expected...
> 
> I always wondered how she felt about being in her labs constantly. Sure, it's amazing, but after a while, it has to get lonely right? Because the people openly respect her, but she doesn't really seem to be really close to anyone except T'Challa, Nakia, Okoye, and her mom.
> 
> And they'd probably normally be running the kingdom.
> 
> So idk, just thought it might be interesting to portray her loneliness or something...
> 
> Alssooooo, I'm starting 2 new books since summer is coming up and I only have 3 more finals left yeet-
> 
> Budapest (An Avengers Fanfiction)
> 
> Summary:
> 
> What really happened in Budapest? Natasha and Clint always share inside jokes about it, and the Avengers are getting frustrated. So they devise a plan... that doesn't exactly go 'as planned.' 
> 
> Andddddd
> 
> A Study of Home (An Avengers Fanfiction)
> 
> Summary:
> 
> Peter Parker knew the difference between a house and a home. 
> 
> A house was a mere building. 
> 
> A home- it was the people that made a home. 
> 
> But what was it called when mind controlled Avengers with the intent to kill were locked in the same building as you?
> 
> (Largely inspired by In the Home by aloneintherain on Ao3- soooo amazing)
> 
>  
> 
> Out of all my stories, which one(s) would you like me to update most often?
> 
> This one (IronDad and Spiderson Oneshots)
> 
> Endgame 2.0
> 
> Beneath the Mask
> 
> Budapest
> 
> A Study of Home
> 
> or
> 
> WHATEVER THE HELL I FEEL LIKE DOING.
> 
> Or if you have other ideas I'm open to them :)
> 
> Just leave a comment and 
> 
> HAVE A NICE DAY.


	6. Field Trip pt. 3 - the Execution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pt 3 of the field trip series!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> S p o o k y title.
> 
> Also please please please please please I'm BEGGING YOU PLEASE go read the "At Least We Didn't Panic" series by Serendipity_Cometh (orphan_account) on Archive of Our Own, it is FUCKING AMAZING.
> 
> https://archiveofourown.org/series/55700
> 
> First book is "It Was Probably the Pudding" and it's like a Peter sickfic with all the Avengers b u t it's much more... serious. And it's wonderfully written, incredible characterizations, all around amazing- and best of all happy ending!
> 
> The second book I haven't had time to read yet, but it's Clint-centric.
> 
> Basically the entire theme of the series is the Avengers' misadventures.
> 
> P l e a s e read it p l e a s e.
> 
> ~ ~ ~
> 
> I made Tony a bit more eccentric in this one, just because I wanted to load in more and more sass, so we have one Snarky Starky here.
> 
> Also, I have a lot of brotherly interactions between Steve and Tony, because that's how I personally see them, but I suppose if you squint and you really really want I guess you can see Stony.

As they arrived at the MET, Peter prepared himself for a completely boring field trip. The most exciting thing that had happened on the bus ride to the museum was that Peter could've sworn the fancy car driving next to their bus for some of the time had the license tag 'STARK' on it (and it looked suspiciously like one of the cars in Tony's parking garage, but the man had so many he couldn't be sure). But he never caught a good glimpse at it, and the windows were shaded so there was no chance of looking inside. To be honest, Peter forgot about it by the time they reached the museum, and he resigned himself to listen to McD talk about Mesopotamia for the next 3 hours.

Oh, how wrong he was.

~ ~ ~

"Isn't this... stalking?" Bruce asked as their car drove parallel to Peter's bus.

Shuri grinned. "Maybe, but it's still fun. Plus, no harm will come to Peter... physically, at least." She then started laughing, looking past Bruce's head towards Peter's bus. They all turned, except Tony, who was driving. Normally, he could have put it in auto drive and had the car drive itself, but seeing as this wasn't an Audi, it didn't have that feature, and Tony had been grumbling the entire drive about 'shoddy cars' even though the car they were in must've been worth God-only-knows-how-much.

Peter's face was pressed against the bus window, eyes squinting suspiciously at the car. Bruce winced a little at the close scrutiny (he didn't much like being watched that closely- it made him fidgety), even though he knew very well that these were one-way view windows only. Then the boy's eyes darted to look at the back of the car, where the license plate was, and Shuri swore quietly.

"Drop back, Stark, Peter's looking at your license plate."

"Ah, yes, forgot about that," Tony said, dropping back a bit before slightly turning to smirk at Steve, whose eyes widened.

"No, no, no Tony don't you dare-"

"Also, Cap doesn't like that language word," Tony said, bowling right over Steve's words. Natasha smirked and Steve dropped his head in his hands.

"When will that ever go away?" he murmured. 

"Never, Capsicle," Tony said flippantly. "You made me listen to your awful grievances once, so you get to hear about it until the day you die. I want to keep annoying you though, so don't go dying on us, capiche?"

"I'm flattered," the Captain said dryly.

"Uh-uh-uh, you didn't answer the question. I said capiche?"

Steve sighed. "Understood, Tony."

"If you two lovebirds are done flirting with each other, take the next right exit, Stark," Natasha interjected smoothly.

"Only one of us is doing the flirting here, Natashalie," Tony said, following her orders. "Captain Spangles over there is just soaking up the praise."

Steve rolled his eyes and muttered something unintelligible. Tony turned his head and batted his eyelashes at the man.

"What was that, honey, didn't catch it," Tony said in a faux-sweet tone. Steve glared at him and cuffed the side of his head.

"You're engaged, Tony. Also, eyes on the road."

Tony dropped the act and resorted to chuckling. "You got it Cap'n," he said, raising his right arm to give a sloppy salute in the man's direction. "Just having fun."

Steve sighed, muttering something along the lines of "why am I here."

"Where to now, Tashalie?" Natasha rolled her eyes but looked at the hologram projecting from one of her Widow Bites. "2 miles north, take a right again and you should be there."

"What is it with you and all the nicknames? Can't you just remember someone's real name?" Shuri asked.

Tony shrugged. "I'm perfectly able to remember people's real names when I want to. However, over the years, I've met many, many people, and I don't particularly want to remember boring politicians or other people's names. So, I make up some ridiculous nickname each time I talk to them so that none of them expect me to remember their real name, and it's just become a habit by now." he paused for a minute, looking over at Natasha. "For example, Director Pirate sent Ms. Natalie Rushman to stab me in the back for SHIELD a couple of years back."

Natasha pursed her lips, trying to hide a satisfied and amused smirk but failing. Shuri looked between the two.

"I'm missing something."

Tony rolled his eyes in Natasha's general direction. "Yeah, I wasn't particularly interested in who I hired back while I was dying-" Steve made a sharp sound, eyes showing surprise, and Tony shot a look at him "- but that's a story for another time. Pepper ended up hiring Natalie Rushman, who just so happens to have been our dear Black Widow." he said, tone dry with amusement. "After I found out, Pepper still didn't know at that point in time, but I hold a grudge-" Clint snorted at that understatement. "-and ended up _almost_ spilling her secret by calling her Natashalie instead of Natasha or Natalie. But I still needed her there, so she got to keep her job."

Natasha snorted. "Really? Not how I remember that interaction going." her eyes shot up to Tony. "As far as I remember, you 'fired' me, and that wasn't your decision so I ended up staying," she said, eyebrow raised.

Tony shrugged offhandedly. "Close enough. And we're here," he said, pulling up to the entrance of the private parking lot.

A guard knocked on their window. "Excuse me, but this is private parki..." he trailed off as Tony rolled his window down and gave the man his billion-dollar smile. "Oh my god, you're the Avengers," he said, obviously surprised as what he must've thought would be a normal day turned into something else. Steve, who'd been sitting in the passenger seat, reached across and gently pushed the eccentric billionaire out of the way of the window so he could speak to the guard, ignoring the mechanic's huff of annoyance. He wasn't about to let Tony handle the social interaction after what happened with the last security guard- to put it simply, Tony got bored, and when he was bored, bad things happened, and they had to fill out 13 lawsuits and assure the public that Tony had not, in fact, been mind controlled.

Yeah, he thinks maybe he'll handle it this time.

"Yes, we have a tour," Steve said. "Where do we go?"

~ ~ ~

Everyone was chatting in the lobby of the MET as McD went up to get name tags and meet their tour guide. Peter was staring around at the majestic lobby, open-mouthed. He never got the chance to have leisurely field trips to nice places, not since becoming Spider-Man.

Because come on, who would go to a museum when you could go Spider-Manning?

Although that didn't mean that he didn't appreciate the relaxing time.

"Close your mouth, loser, you look like a gawking duck," MJ said, and Peter gave her a mock-hurt look.

"Don't break my heart, MJ, I've only got one," Peter said. 

MJ looked at him with a bored expression. "Would you rather I break one of your bones? You have 206 of those."

Peter grimaced. "I break too many bones already, I think I'll pass. Thanks, though."

Wait, why was he thanking her for threatening to break his bones...?

Because she was MJ, that's why.

To distract himself, Peter spewed out the first words that came to mind. "Do you ever wonder what trees think about tree houses? Must be very offending; 'Here, I killed your friend. Hold him.'"

MJ gave him a look as dry as the Sahara desert. "I could eat a bowl of alphabet soup and shit out a smarter statement than whatever you just said," she stated.

Ned paused. "Were you insulting the alphabet soup or Peter?"

MJ glanced between both of them. "What's the difference?" she asked rhetorically, walking away.

Peter and Ned blinked.

"What...?" Ned asked.

"I don't know," Peter said, squinting at her. "This is reminding me of that time we were at Liz's party and she asked, but like, didn't ask, if she was there."

"Yeah, before you ditched me," Ned said, still grumpy about that.

"Dude, I told you, important stuff came up!"

"Still." Ned grouched, and Peter rolled his eyes, bumping Ned's shoulder amiably.

"Forgive and forget, man."

"You're the one who still complains about Tony Stark taking your suit." Ned said, lowering his voice at the words 'Tony Stark' as if they were holy.

"Oh, shut up, Ned."

~ ~ ~

While they were waiting for the tour guide- unfortunately for everyone- Flash was boasting about the time Spider-Man 'borrowed' his dad's car.

MJ meandered over, very _done_ with Flash's existence. As Flash opened his mouth again, probably to boast more, she interrupted. "Good story, but in what chapter do you shut the fuck up?"

Flash opened and closed his mouth. "I was _saying_ how Spider-Man actually _knew_ my name." he gloated.

"Ah, shit, he's right," Peter muttered. "I forgot I called him by name."

Ned chuckled. "Fear not, I'm pretty sure MJ has got this one handled."

MJ merely put her hand up to her ear. Students were backing away from her, leaving Flash alone. "Sorry, I didn't get that. I don't speak bullshit."

"I- I- I'm telling you, he _knew my name_." Flash insisted for probably the 25th time that day.

"It's kind of hilarious watching you try to fit your entire vocabulary into one sentence," MJ said. When Flash had absolutely no comeback, she sighed in disappointment. "I was hoping for a battle of wits but I suppose it would be wrong to attack someone who's totally unarmed." she turned around, calling "Stupidity's not a crime, so feel free to go."

Then she stopped, turned around, and looked Flash dead in the eye. "The trash gets picked up tomorrow. Be ready." then she turned on her heel and walked to Ned and Peter, sitting on the bench beside them and pulling out her sketchbook. She looked up at Flash and began drawing.

"I swear, people like him are the reason this country had to put directions on shampoo," she muttered, face twisting into a grimace as she drew the boy. Peter burst out in chuckles at the statement, and she shot him a surprised look and a _tiny_ grin that was gone as fast as it appeared, but it was _there_.

~ ~ ~

Their tour guide had come over and introduced herself as Karen, to which Ned immediately snickered and nudged Peter, giving a nod to his AI's name being Karen. Peter rolled his eyes but gave a half grin as the class followed Karen to the Mesopotamia exhibit.

A couple of hours had passed (of which Mr. McD continued to rattle on about the history and all the rulers of Mesopotamia, etc), and Peter was about ready to drop dead of boredom. At least they wouldn't have homework today, even if it was just as boring as regular school. At least, that's what he thought until a sudden silence fell over the class and a _very_ familiar voice shouted:

"Well, if it isn't my favorite intern, Peter Parker!"

~ ~ ~

Earlier...

The Avengers followed the nice security guard- Jeff, as they'd later learned - who'd knocked on their window through the back door of the MET. He had been talking into his radio, and eventually turned to face them.

"So, I can show you around... do you have any preferences of location?"

Steve opened his mouth to respond, but Tony (who'd been tracking Peter and knew exactly where he was), pushed himself forward. "Yes, how about the Mesopotamia visit?" he stated more than asked. Steve shot him a glance, eyebrow raised, and Tony winked back at him in a very Tony-Stark-like fashion, causing the Captain to roll his eyes and Clint to snicker.

The guard nodded. "Of course. There's a tour going on in there right now but I can clear them ou-"

"No, it's okay, we can share the room." Shuri cut in, Wakandan accent thick in her words and her royal status showing through. Jeff blinked, obviously thrown in for a loop at the request.

"Okay." he agreed amiably after a moment's surprise, turning to lead everyone to the room. "Just a warning, it's a group of high school kids, so some of them may faint from surprise or something like that."

The Avengers exchanged smirks and grins.

Oh, they were counting on it.

~ ~ ~

Present time...

Everyone whirled around in surprise to see none other than Tony Stark and the Avengers walking into the exhibit, the former having been the one who shouted out.

Luckily, no one had really paid attention to _what_ Tony had said- more the fact that he _had_ said anything.

Peter gaped at them as Sam caught his eye and winked, shooting him a grin.

Oh, scratch that, he was so _dead_.

Tony started walking forward and the class started parting like the Red Sea for him. Unfortunately, Peter was right in his path, and soon the man had reached him, clapping him on the shoulder and drawling out a question.

"Didn't answer my question, Pete," Tony said, slinging his arm around Peter's shoulders and ignoring the way the boy's face turned red. "How's my favorite intern?"

Peter opened his mouth to respond, maybe to curse the man out, but there was a squeak and an incredulous:

 _"Penis Parker wasn't lying?"_

Tony stiffened and turned to face Flash, and Peter's mind was repeating _ohshitohshitohshit_. The rest of the Avengers, too, stiffened, and the class was completely silent.

Basically, everyone knew that Flash fucked up.

Tony's eyes raised as he surveyed Flash, and though he had a completely cool facade, his arm protectively curled around Peter told a different story.

"I'm not a proctologist, but I know an asshole when I see one," Tony said cooly, ignoring the way Flash's face heated up. "Who may you be and _what_ did you call Peter?"

Flash's mouth opened in a squeak, but nothing came out. If possible, Tony's eyes hardened even more, and Peter recognized that he had changed from cool, amiable Tony to businessman and part-time superhero Mr. Stark. Tony took a step forward until he was almost nose to nose with the boy.

"Because if I heard correctly- and last time I visited my doctor, I had perfect hearing, thank you very much- _you_ called _my_ kid Penis." Even in this mode- eyes flashing, voice holding tension you could cut with a knife- he was still the businessman that was completely put together and composed.

And as much as he would _love_ to see that businessman completely _destroy_ Flash (because he trusted Tony and knew he wouldn't do anything _too_ bad), he couldn't let that happen.

"Tony," he whispered (because whispering always seems right in situations like this). The man whirled around at once.

"What's wrong, Pete?" he asked calmly, as if he hadn't just abandoned his activity and gotten to Peter's side in 0.002 seconds.

"No killing minors," Peter replied. Tony's eyes softened when he saw that Peter wasn't in trouble, and then he shoved Peter's side lightly.

"Aw, can't I just scare him a bit? Roughen him up?" 

Peter gave him the 'really' look.

"Mentally scar him?"

"No, Tony." Peter deadpanned, and Tony sighed.

"And I'm supposed to be the adult here." Tony lamented, giving Peter a grin and ignoring the shocked faces of Peter's classmates- and Flash's probably-too-pale-face (but who cares).

Natasha sauntered over, twirling her knives. "Tony, you're about as mature as a three-year-old."

Tony shrugged. "Sounds about right." he paused. "But I'm smarter."

Nat rolled her eyes, the corner of her mouth twitching up just a bit. "Claiming to be smarter than a three-year-old now, Stark? Not much of an accomplishment. Your standards have dropped."

Stark shrugged. "Yeah, well, take what you can get."

Peter looked around and figured he'd best get the Avengers out of here before his classmates all dropped dead of shock.

"Yeahyeahyeah interesting conversation," Peter said, ignoring Natasha's deadly glare at being interrupted (he knew she'd never actually harm him) "buuuut let's skip forward to the part where you explain _why the fuck you're here_."

"The Captain doesn't like that language." Shuri murmured, and Steve's jaw dropped as the rest of the Avengers started to chuckle.

He turned a disbelieving glare on everyone, and Peter's classmates shied away from the intimidating look, not realizing it was playful. "Alright, which one of you told her that? I was willing to let it slip the first time, but now..."

Natasha and Tony were smirking and Shuri was straight out laughing, holding a wobbly arm in their general direction.

"Not really sorry, that was hilarious," Tony said smoothly, stepping away from Peter to sling his arm over Steve's shoulder. Now Peter was trying to hold in laughs because Steve was taller than Tony, so Tony was reaching up to have his arm wrapped around the other man's shoulder, creating quite the comical sight. Tony must've realized this, too, but his stubborn nature caused him to stay in the uncomfortable position. Steve merely gave a long-suffering sigh.

Shuri recovered from her laughs and walked over to Peter. He squinted at her. 

"This was all _you_ , wasn't it?" he exclaimed. "You're the only one who knew about the trip!"

"Yup!" Shuri said, grinning and ignoring his betrayed look. "What? I was bored and I figured I could save you from... this," she said, waving her arm around. Peter shrugged.

"Fair enough."

"Holy shit, is that the _Princess of Wakanda? And the King of Wakanda? And the Avengers? All talking to one of our classmates_?" everyone turned to the boy. Peter blinked at him.

"Uhhhhh, yeah," he said like it was completely normal. "Anyways, have you met my friends?" Peter said.

"Friend _s_?" Tony said, and Peter rolled his eyes. 

"Yes, friends, as in plural," Peter said, tugging Ned and MJ forward. The former bounced forward excitedly, whereas MJ hung back, blinking at Peter in surprise. He beckoned her forward encouragingly, and she took a couple of steps forward up to Peter's left side.

Clint, unfortunately, was the first to notice her, and of course, he made a scene about it.

"Ooh, lil Petey has a girlfriend." he teased. Peter winced, knowing Clint didn't mean any harm, but teasing him like that in front of his entire class... that'd never go away.

Natasha noticed this too and smacked him over the head with a fierce glare. Before she could say anything, though, MJ beat her to it.

"Do you know what the difference between a girl friend and girlfriend is? That little space we call the 'friend zone.'" she said. Clint's jaw dropped open and Peter winced. He knew MJ didn't think of him the same way he did of her, but it still... it still hurt. But MJ wasn't done talking. "But in this case, Parker is firmly _out_ of the friend zone." Peter blinked in surprise, and as this sunk in, Clint opened his mouth again, most likely to tease Peter about it, but MJ calmly spoke again.

"If you don't shut your mouth, the next thing to come out of it will be your teeth," she said without a quaver in her voice, even though she was insulting an _Avenger_. Even Natasha's face showed surprise.

The entire class waited, holding their breath until it was broken by a sharp laugh, and Natasha was walking towards MJ.

"I like you." she decided. "I like you a lot. Not a lot of people can get him to shut up. You did a good job."

Now it seemed to be MJ who was at loss for words, faced with one of her biggest role models.

"I.. uh, thanks," MJ said, clearing her throat. "You manage to do it pretty well too, as I've heard." she shot a sideways glance towards Peter.

"Yeah, well, I've had years. It's a learned skill." Natasha said, and MJ smirked towards Peter.

"Well, I've had practice with Parker," she admitted, causing Peter to huff indignantly at her.

"Last name basis? I'm insulted, _Michelle_ , I thought we were friends." Peter drawled out, and Clint looked utterly lost. Eventually, his curiosity outweighed his fear of MJ, and he questioned them.

"Wait, so _are_ you two dating?"

Peter started to refute the question, but MJ once again beat him to it.

"Yeah," she said casually, and Peter's face heated up.

"I.. wha.. me... whe-" Peter stuttered, and MJ turned a bored glance to him.

"Yup, dork, you're always in some sort of crisis, so if I stick around you, I'll have plenty of sketching opportunities," she said, leaning on his shoulder. "Plus, you're shorter than me, and I like that," she said, leaving Peter to sigh as she rested her elbows on each of his shoulders, lacing her hands together and resting her chin on the top of his head.

"Your hair is very fluffy," she said, voice muffled from her voicebox being pressed against the back of his head.

"So I've heard," Peter replied, trying to roll his eyes upward to look at her, but he'd have to move his head back, and MJ made a noise of annoyance at being shifted. So he just stood there with MJ leaning across his back and using the top of his head as a chinrest.

"You two are pretty cute together, going to admit," Natasha stated, and Peter rolled his eyes.

"Yes, okay, we done here?" he asked. "Pretty sure the field trip ended, like, years ago."

He then heard a squeak from behind them, and they all collectively turned around to face Peter's shocked class (Peter made sure to do a slow shuffle in a circle as to not disturb MJ).

Flash looked like he was about to pee his pants.

"Haha, Flash, I told you it was real," Ned said, like settling a score (okay, he'd be first to admit, perhaps it was a bit childish, but it was so _satisfying_ to see Flash's face so shocked).

Tony clapped. "Okay, so, you all are going to keep this quiet, capiche?" he said.

The class nodded, mouths gaping.

Steve, ever the kind soul that he was, stepped forward. "Do you have any questions for us?

That set off a chain of reactions, and soon kids were crowding all the Avengers asking all sorts of questions, and Tony shot Steve a look like 'why would you do this?', earning a shrug in response.

~ ~ ~

After the questions had been asked and autographs handed out, the Avengers were getting ready to leave, as was the class.

Tony walked over to Peter, who was now sitting on a bench, and shot a glance at MJ, who was resting comfortably against his side and finishing up a sketch of Clint's face after he'd fallen over onto one of Natasha's conveniently placed knives.

He squinted at it as she finished up and put her signature on it. "Nice sketch. Can I buy it from you for blackmail material?"

MJ held her hand out and Tony dropped a $100 bill and a badge to Stark Industries in her palm, and she gave him the drawing.

"$100?" she looked up at him with her eyebrows raised.

"I need a nickname for you too," Tony remembered his trend, and he glanced at MJ's disbelieving face. "Oh, yes, killer eyebrows, Pep and Natashalie have eyebrows that could murder me too. Plus the fact that you shut Katniss up earlier with a sentence. You're now Scary Girl." Tony decided. "And yes, $100 because I'm Tony Stark and this blackmail opportunity is gold. Plus that badge will get you anywhere in Avengers Tower."

"Great, I'll use it when I need to drag Pete's ass over to school for yet another one of his missed Decathlon meetings," MJ said, tilting her head back to look at Peter, who chuckled nervously.

"Great plan, I'm in favor of it," Tony said, folding up the paper with the drawing on it and sticking it in his pocket. He glanced over as he heard his name called, and he saw the rest of the Avengers beckoning him to hurry up. He waved them off and turned back to Peter.

"So, I'll see you tonight, kid, and Scary Girl, see you around sometime," he said, causing Peter to sigh again and shove Tony in the direction of the Avengers.

"Go on, Tony, you're going to be late."

"Fashionably late." Tony retorted, staying where he was. MJ rolled her eyes.

"You're being like one of those parents who hangs around and waits for their kid to leave on the first day of school." she sighed. "Just go already, Stark."

"I'm not a dad," Tony muttered, turning to leave.

"Yeah, sure you're not." MJ retorted, knowing he heard her, but he didn't argue this time.

~ ~ ~

"All in all, that went pretty well," Ned admitted.

"Mhm," Peter said, muffled by MJ's hair (her head was in his lap).

"As long as it gets Flash to shut up," MJ said, moving her head slightly to take some of her hair off of Peter's face. He smiled softly in thanks, even though he knew she couldn't see his face.

"At least it's over," Peter said quietly. "And thank you all for sticking with me."

Ned bumped his shoulder. "Of course, dude."

MJ nodded slightly. "My life would be a lot more boring without you loser, so... stick around."

"I plan on it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cheesy ending, hooray.
> 
> Really sorry for the late update, you guys. I had planned to get this out much earlier, but a family member is dying and we had to fly in to help them, so... haven't had much chance to write. BUT I finally got this one out (almost 5,000 words, yay) and the next one I'll be writing is the 'Willy Wonka Field Trip STARK VERSION,' which I've already started writing and it's very interesting... and after that I have a oneshot that I already wrote 7,000 words of a while ago that's the Avengers getting turned into high schoolers...
> 
> yeah, a lot of stuff.
> 
> Once again I apologize; I know I said there'd be more frequent updates, but this kinda came out of nowhere and... yeah.
> 
> Hope you all are doing well, and see you all later! (I apologize for any grammar mistakes, I've been taking night shifts dealing with our dying relative and I'm exhausted. Ciao)


	7. I Cared, Kid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter ded. He fUcKin dEaD-  
> okay sorry uh yeah I regret writing this but I don't also.
> 
> Basically, Tony never got to tell Peter how much he truly cared before it was too late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: REFERENCES TO SUICIDE.
> 
> Only referenced, because Peter's already dead. This is more... Tony-centric.
> 
> I have considered doing a oneshot like this for a LONG time. I just really connect to the ones I've read maybe because my life is just depressing and always wondered what it'd be like if I wrote one. Yet something has always held me back- the irrational fear of... I don't know what exactly. Just something.
> 
> I write angst best so this depressing stuff just spills out of me naturally.
> 
> Then again, we all crave conflict for our main character because it's fun to read, no matter how much it may hurt so perhaps that's why there's so much angst out there.
> 
> This is Infinity War compliant with one reference, but I guess just pretend it's a different Endgame where everyone got revived.

In case you don't read the author's notes:

Trigger Warning: References to suicide. (as I said, only referenced because Peter is already dead)

~ ~ ~

A figure stood kneeling in the mud, ignoring the downpour soaking through their clothing and ruining their expensive shoes. In front of him was a gravestone, cold and gray and not at all fair to the vibrant personality of the boy it was for.

"I cared, kid." Tony Stark murmured quietly, voice cracking. 

The words from Peter's... note rang in his head.

_I can't anymore. I just can't- I'm sorry._

_It just didn't feel like anyone cared about me._

_Spider-Man, yes, but Peter Parker?_

Tony's shoulders shook with quiet sobs, allowing the rain to drench him. It was raining, yes, just like in all those movies. Tony had always thought it was ridiculous that _every single time_ someone filmed a funeral, it was always rainy outside.

Movies.

Peter flashed through his mind, every movie he had referenced running in a list through his head. He had promised to watch them with Tony.

That promise would never be fulfilled.

More sobs, more tears running down the man's face as guilt threatened to consume him. He thought now he understood why people visited graves when it rained; no one could tell the difference between tears and rain; shudders of sadness and guilt or shivers from the cold and wet.

It- it wasn't _fair_ that the sun could continue to shine on a world without Peter. For many people- _so many of them_ (if only he'd realized this before)- Peter _was_ their whole world.

Ned was quieter, sadder. Had put away his Legos; they were too painful to look at, too many memories. A part of his childhood innocence, gone.

MJ closed off, retreated into her bubble of loneliness. Peter was the only one who had really tried to be friends with her- and he was gone now. She let herself get close to someone and he slipped out of her grasp. It wasn't him that she was mad at, though; it was herself.

Flash was consumed by guilt, wondering, wondering- what if it was _him_ who finally pushed Peter over the edge? He had bullied the boy because he had depression issues of his own, and Peter seemed so _happy_ all the time; it wasn't _fair_. Life never is.

Happy, like MJ, closed off. He wondered; what if he hadn't stopped Peter from talking in those car drives back and forth to the Compound? What if he had paid closer attention and noticed something was wrong? Would things be different then?

Aunt May was broken. After Ben had died, she had focused her energy on Peter, her little boy who needed her. She missed the way his eyes would light up as he saw her each morning, or the smile in his eyes even as he fought back a grimace at her terrible cooking, only to burst out laughing with her seconds later. When she'd seen Tony for the first time after Peter's death, she'd expected to feel... what? Anger, perhaps, that she hadn't been informed of Spider-Man, or he hadn't tried to stop Peter. But as she saw how broken and... guilty the man was, all she could feel was compassion. She knew he felt guilty, just by the look in his eye, and she also knew Peter. He wouldn't have given up his role as Spider-Man for anything unless it was to save someone's life (in that instance, he'd give it up in a heartbeat). And she was thankful for all he had done to try and keep Peter close and safe.

And Tony? He was all of them. Quieter, sadder, closed off, guilty, broken. Because he'd experienced anxiety and depression of his own; he'd been the kid's mentor and _father figure_. Peter had said it offhandedly one day in the lab, how he'd filled the position Ben had left behind, and it made Tony feel a surge of protectiveness towards him. But he hadn't been good enough.

All the ego, genius, money, and experience in the world hadn't been enough.

Not enough to save the boy who'd wriggled into all their hearts and stayed there.

And if it wasn't enough to save Peter, then what was the point?

Another part of the letter Peter had written- this part specifically to him- echoed through his mind.

_Mr. Stark-_

_I know you'll feel guilty because you'll think I'm just another person you let die._

_I want you to know this isn't your fault..._

_none of it is. This was my issue, one that I had to deal with on my own, with my own methods..._

_and, well, I guess you see what my solution is._

And it hurt because _god_ , he had cared, so so so much for that kid. He... he wasn't just "another person."

He knew he was awful at emotions, but hadn't Peter at least noticed how much he truly worried for him?

He had been so, so scared when Peter got dropped in the lake (oh, how simple things had been back then)- scared that his suit wouldn't get there in time, that he would **let Peter die.**

The boy's words following that incident still haunted him.

_'But I'm ready for more now!' he had insisted._

_'No, you're not.'_

God, what if... what if he hadn't been so harsh in shooting the kid down.

_'That is not what you thought when I took on Captain America!'_

_'Trust me, kid, if Cap wanted to lay you out, he would've.'_

That broken look in Peter's eyes as he said that. With that one sentence, Tony had shattered all of Peter's built up self-confidence. Truth was, Peter had fought brilliantly, and Tony knew Cap had truly been fighting the kid, not holding back as he would've normally. He had said that to keep Peter down, stop him from being hurt...

but what if it did more damage than good?

_'Look, forget the flying vulture guy, please.'_

He had pleaded with Peter.

**Please.** The word had reverberated in his head.

_'Stay close to the ground. Build up your game helping little people, like that lady that bought you the churro.'_

He listened to Peter's voicemails.

All of them.

_'Can't you just be a friendly... neighborhood Spider-Man?'_

Later, Peter had referenced this while on the flying donut ship.

_'You can't be a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man if there's no neighborhood.'_

A choked chuckle escaped the man's mouth, looking sadly at the dirt. "You can't be a friendly neighboorhood Spider-Man if there's no Spider-Man," he said brokenly.

Oh, how he had wanted to say that to the boy on the spaceship.

But the reality was, he wasn't ready.

Wasn't ready to face the fact that Peter could **die** on this trip. 

Couldn't believe it even as he said it himself.

_'You know this is a one-way ticket, right?'_

And he knew he'd blame himself.

_'And if you die... I feel like that's on **me.** '_

Then Peter had died-

_'I don't wanna go, I don't wanna go, Mr. Stark, **please** -'_

and his last words had been

_'I'm sorry.'_

The same words in the note.

I'm sorry.

~ ~ ~

Where had that drive for life gone?

As awful as sitting through Peter begging for his life and **not being able to do anything** was, sitting here not knowing where it had all gone wrong was worse.

Because as he looked back, what scared him was that he didn't know what changed.

When it changed.

Was it after the snap?

When they brought them all back?

Had the Peter Tony had always known been a mask- a mask of the true sadness the boy held inside?

May didn't know either.

And yet... here he was.

_Peter Parker._

_Beloved son, nephew, friend, and hero._

The gravestone read.

Tony didn't know how much time had passed. This happened when he was in his workshop, too, time passing by without him realizing. Yet in the workshop, time flew and he gave it no second thoughts. Here, every minute was a million years but was also only a second. Because time was irrelevant where Peter was involved. Tony would have spent years with Peter and not minded one bit. Yet, ironically, time was also Peter's demise. If only Tony had been faster and Peter slower...

And as the rain finally lightened and the sun peeked through, Tony stood up- wet shoes squelching and frozen joints cracking- and placed a shaking hand on the cool and slick gravestone.

And in a voice that was hoarse and quiet from crying, he whispered the same words that had been on loop in his mind since he had found the boy.

"I cared, Peter. So much."

Tony Stark turned around, fresh tears threatening to overwhelm him, but he pushed them back.

Peter wanted him to be strong, so he would be.

"I cared." he murmured as he left.

And, as he stepped out, the breeze picked up, the wet leaves swirled around his feet, and the wind carried words. Words spoken in the voice that he missed so much.

_I know you did._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SORRY. Don't worry a happy and humorous one should be posted in about 5 minutes, the Willy Wonka Field Trip STARK VERSION, and it's like 6000 words so you get happiness after this pain I put y'all through.
> 
> I don't know if you read the Author's Notes at the top, but yeah, I've considered writing this for a long time but never really could... until today when I just sat down and typed this out. Maybe that has something to do with my grandfather dying a week ago from heart failure, I don't really know.
> 
> Uh... yeah, I'll go get that happy one posted now.
> 
> The next one will be a request I got from F4fanatic, so thank you for requesting that and I'll hopefully get it out soon :)


	8. Willy Wonka Field Trip STARK VERSION

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basically the plot of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory but with Tony Stark and Stark Industries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's clear some stuff up. Basically, nothing in this oneshot is canon; it can't follow canon of having Peter already met Tony because he needs to meet him here. Just pretend Rhodey is the godfather or something (perhaps Richard or Mary Parker went to MIT or something and were friends with Rhodey before Tony came into the picture idk) and thinks Tony didn't know, but Tony always knows. It'll follow the same basic plot as Willy Wonka and the chocolate factory, except I haven't read that book in AGES soooo things might be a bit inaccurate. I hope I do this idea justice and comment on your thoughts!
> 
> CHARACTERS + Casting:
> 
> Tony Stark = Willy Wonka
> 
> Rhodey = Grandpa Joe
> 
> Peter Parker = Charlie Bucket (you know what's funny- in the movie, the actor for Charlie is named Peter)
> 
> Justin Hammer = Oscar Sluggworth (idk just needed a bad guy who was Tony's business rival)
> 
> Aunt May = Charlie's mom? (I have not watched the movie in YEARS)
> 
> James O'Connor = Augustus Gloop (gluttonous German boy)
> 
> Flash Thompson = Veruca Salt (spoiled rich little girl- what do you mean that's not Flash?)
> 
> Victoria Flemings = Violet Beauregarde (an avid gum chewer)
> 
> Merryl Stone = Mike TeeVee (obsessed with television)
> 
> I made up James, Victoria, and Merryl.
> 
> I don't think I forgot anyone.
> 
> I'm gonna regret this later.

Peter fidgeted nervously with his sleeves as he waited for the science fair to start, repeatedly reaching up to run his hands through his hair with shaky hands. He heard footsteps behind him and he whirled around. His godfather, Rhodey, put his hands up in mock surrender and chuckled.

"Whoa there, Pete. Someone's a bit nervous now, are they?" he said, and Peter let out a breathy laugh, nodding. Rhodey regarded him with a raised eyebrow.

"You know, if you really wanted to meet Tony Stark _that badly_ , I could've told him about you ages ago." 

But Peter was already shaking his head 'no' vehemently. "I appreciate the offer, Rhodey, but if Tony Stark is going to notice me, I want it to be because of something I did, not piggybacking off your reputation," Peter explained, and Rhodey ruffled his hair playfully.

"Alright, kiddo, understood. I know you'll win this thing. You've worked so hard, there's no way you won't." Rhodey said, giving Peter a short hug.

"But what if I don't?" Peter asked, brown eyes wide. "This thing... they picked the top 5 schools to participate, and Midtown may have been one of them, but I have to be in the top 5 students of the top 5 schools to get in!" Peter was waving his arms around empathetically, and Rhodey caught them before they could smack him in the face.

"Kid, I know you're in the top one," Rhodey said seriously, looking him straight in the eye. "And if the judges can't see that, then, well, in Tony's words: They're dumb shits."

Peter gave a laugh at that, and the serious look in Rhodey's eyes broke.

"Oh, come on, I was trying to be inspirational," Rhodey said, and Peter patted his back in mock sympathy. The man opened his mouth to say something else, but the bell rung and everyone was moving to their positions. Rhodey closed his mouth, gave Peter a quick pat on the back, and whispered: "You got this, kiddo." before disappearing into the audience and sitting next to Aunt May, who had just come in from work. She gave him a bright smile, a wave, and a thumbs up.

Peter felt his nerves build up again as he waved back, but Rhodey's supporting words echoed through his mind, and he sat up straighter, breathing calming down.

The judges called him out, and he walked onto the stage, presenting his project clearly and effectively and feeling Rhodey's and May's proud gazes on him the entire time.

~ ~ ~

After Midtown's part of the science fair was finished, Peter raced to find Rhodey and May. They had about 20 minutes while the Midtown judges called the other 4 schools' judges and they voted on who to send on the trip.

He threaded through groups of people chatting about projects and betting on who would win, until he spotted the duo in the corner, waiting for him. He raced over and jumped up and down excitedly.

"I did it!" he shouted over the noise of hundreds of people talking.

"Damn right you did," Rhodey said, grinning, and Aunt May smacked his shoulder for the mild curse.

"Brilliantly presented, honey," she said in her soft voice, and Peter beamed at the both of them, grabbing their arms and towing them to their seats to wait for the announcement.

~ ~ ~

"And the winner for Midtown's Science Fair is..."

Peter waited, holding his breath, eyes shining.

"Eugene 'Flash' Thompson!"

The boy in question stood up and strutted over to the man, collecting the certificate and guest pass that would allow him into the Tower.

Peter's shoulders slumped, and he let out a sigh. Why had he ever believed he could win? Aunt May was rubbing his back comfortingly, while Rhodey was glaring at the boy and the judges.

"Looks like they are dumb shits." the man said. "Of course some rich guy got it. Probably bribed the judges." The army man then calmed himself, putting back on a cool mask, though still upset about the situation. He had been around Tony long enough to know that Peter's project was far more advanced and well put together than the Flash boy, but nothing they could really do about it now. Peter was lost in a whirlwind of thoughts.

"From the Founding School... Merryl Stone."

He hadn't been _good enough_.

"School of the Sciences... James O'Connor."

What had he done wrong?

"The Stratford school... Victoria Flemings."

Or maybe money would just always win over intellect, though he would've hoped it'd be different for this.

"And, we have something unusual." The judge said, snapping Peter out of his thoughts. "Two kids tied for Midtown Tech. The first was Mr. Thompson, but the second is Peter Parker!"

Peter blinked and gaped at the man.

I... I won?

He was snapped out of his trance by a nudge and an encouraging smile from Rhodey. He hopped out of his seat and practically dashed to the stage. He didn't know whether the walk took a thousand years or whether it was virtually nonexistent, but before he knew it, he was on the stage, bright lights blinding him and the sleek, cool pass to the Tower in his hand.

He searched the crowd for Rhodey and May, and his eyes locked with theirs'. He gave a brilliant smile at the same time a camera flashed.

~ ~ ~

" _Teens Win Trip to Avengers Tower_." May read from the newspaper the next morning, setting it down to reveal a picture of the 5 kids, one of which being Peter. At the sight of his own face and almost maniac smile on the front of the paper, Peter choked on his cereal and spat milk out of his nose.

"Ow." he groaned, holding his burning nose.

May patted his shoulder, smiling sympathetically and wordlessly handing him a cloth for his nose to blow the milk out. Oh, well, at least it wasn't ginger ale this time. That had hurt like a buttcheek on a stick.

Peter picked up the paper and stared at the front in awe. "I'm famous..." he breathed out.

May chuckled and ruffled his hair. "Pete, you're literally Spider-Man. You're on the news every day." (Yes, she knows he's Spider-Man, yeedeedadeeda)

"But this is different!" Peter protested. "Spider-Man is a superhero. _Peter Parker_ is not, but now he's famous."

"Well, I see no difference." Aunt May said, cleaning up. "Peter Parker _and_ Spider-Man are one and the same, and they're _both_ my heroes."

Peter gave a small grin. "Thanks, Aunt May," he said softly.

"If you thanked me every time I was right, Peter, you'd be thanking me every time you opened your mouth," May replied, and Peter chuckled.

"Mhm," he made the noncommittal noise in his throat since there really was no response to May's brilliantly crafted reply.

May finished cleaning up and looked up at the clock. "Well, we have about 4 hours before you've gotta be outside Stark Tower with Rhodey, so... anything you want to do?"

"It's _Avengers Tower_ now, May," Peter said, laughing. "But no, not particularly."

"Central Park and ice cream?" May asked, eyes glinting. "Then we're closer to _Avengers Tower_ and, well, ice cream."

Peter chuckled again. "Sounds good to me."

~ ~ ~

Peter was pacing up and down the sidewalk, glancing at his watch- Ben's old watch- every 6 seconds. May was finishing up her ice cream.

"Calm down there, Pete, we're 15 minutes early," she remarked, throwing her napkin into the closest garbage can.

"I know, I know," Peter muttered, running his hands through his hair. 

"If you continue doing that, you'll have no hair by the time all this is over." Aunt May remarked, coming up to him and taking his hands gently. "Don't be so nervous; you _earned_ this."

Yet Peter's eyes continued to flick around rapidly. Aunt May, knowing he needed a distraction, looked behind the boy, her eyes lighting up.

"Hey, look, Rhodey's here!" she said. Peter spun around and was met with the grinning man.

"Hey bud, ready to enter the Tower of Doom?" Rhodey said, deepening his voice comedically at the last three words and clapping the boy on the back.

May rolled her eyes fondly, but Peter just laughed, some of the tension seeping away, relieved that Rhodey was finally here.

However, the laugh died in his throat as he remembered who he met last night on his walk back from the science fair; Rhodey and May had gone ahead while he had stayed to help clean up.

_I can give you anything you want; just do this one thing for me._

No. _No_. He shouldn't even be thinking about it.

_Name any price, and it's yours._

Peter physically shook his head, trying to get the slithery voice out of his mind. Rhodey's voice slowly seeped in, taking the speech's place.

"Pete? You okay?" the man asked, and Peter blinked.

"Huh?" he asked distractedly, the two adults' worried faces wavering in his vision. "Oh. Oh yeah, I'm fine." They looked skeptical but dropped the topic, assuming it was just nerves.

_Just do this one thing for me, and you'll be rich._

~ ~ ~

While they were waiting for the doors to open, a thought occurred to Peter.

"Wait!" he cried, head shooting up. May and Rhodey startled. "Mr. Stark is giving us the tour and he'll recognize you." Peter pointed to Rhodey.

Rhodey's worried face melted away and he laughed. "Don't worry, I've got something for that," he said, smirking. Peter tilted his head. 

"What?"

Rhodey held up a small device, about the size of a quarter. He placed it on his neck, behind his ear, and his face shimmered and shifted. Peter scrambled away, blinking in surprise.

A completely different man was standing before him. Peter and May both gaped at him.

"Will this work?" Rhodey-not-Rhodey asked, laughing, and even his voice was different. "Tony made this." he continued. "Natasha used it when taking down Hydra when they infiltrated SHIELD a little while back. It completely changes your facial structure and voice. Apparently Tony got inspiration when he hacked into SHIELD's databases and found a mention of an alien race called Skrulls, who are apparently shape-shifters." he shrugged. "It's certainly useful."

"How'd you get it?" Peter asked, curious, and Rhodey chuckled.

"I just asked Tony for it last night. Of course, he was curious and kept bugging me what for, but he trusts me enough and gave it to me anyways."

Peter opened his mouth to respond, but the clock struck twelve and the front doors to the Tower opened.

"Tony Stark," Peter breathed out as a man walked out, and Rhodey snorted.

"More like 6'1" and 225 pounds of pure dumbass," he muttered under his breath.

(I kid you not, I actually looked that up. He is not as short as we made him out to be. He's only an inch shorter than Steve.)

Tony Stark stepped into the light and the reporters went wild, shoving their faces through the gate, cameras flashing, all clamoring for questions to be answered.

"This is because he hasn't been to a press conference in years," Rhodey whispered. "Not since Justin Hammer tried to infiltrate Stark Industries and steal specs for the Iron Man armor."

 _Justin Hammer_. The name sent another pang of guilt through Peter's mind, but he pushed his thoughts to the back of his mind and focused on the famous billionaire in front of him.

Stark raised his hand for silence and everyone quieted down, cameras recording. "I'm not here to answer press questions. The five kids who won the science fair and their one guest each can step forward now."

Peter gripped the badge that he had won close to his chest, stepping forward with a disguised Rhodey at his side.

Flash, as per usual, shoved his way to the front, nose in the air, a woman who Peter assumed to be his mother following him. A half circle of emptiness had opened up in front of the gates, leaving the 10 people craning their necks to look at the Tower. Mr. Stark beckoned them forward. Flash scanned his badge first, stepping through with his mom at his side, chest puffing up even more.

The next to scan their badge was James O' Connor, a chubby boy who had obviously had one too many chocolate bars. He was with his uncle, a stern- looking man.

Next was Victoria Flemings, chewing a piece of gum and holding the hand of what looked to be her boyfriend, who edged past Mr. Stark, looking a bit intimidated.

Then came Merryl Stone, a girl wearing glasses and glancing at her phone every minute, even as she scanned her badge and stepped inside the gates with her father.

Last was Peter. May gave him an encouraging smile, and he stepped forward, Mr. Stark's gaze grazing over him. He scanned the badge and stepped into the gates, Rhodey at his shoulder. He didn't know whether or not it was his imagination, but he could've sworn the man's eyes hovered on Rhodey longer than the other adults.

He was probably being paranoid.

~ ~ ~

Tony Stark stepped outside and inwardly groaned as he saw all the reporters waiting for him. It was to be expected, given him dropping off the radar, but he was still annoyed. 

As he quieted them down and scanned the group of people he was letting into his Tower, his gaze was drawn to a quiet, nervous boy at the back of the group clutching his badge to his chest as if he were afraid it would disappear. The only thing really odd about him was that he didn't emit the smug, rich aura the other 4 kids did. But that wasn't the only thing that was off. The man next to the teen seemed oddly familiar.

"Friday, scan that man." he murmured to the AI housed in his sunglasses, quiet enough for only him to hear. "Who is he?"

"Scan complete," the AI responded as the kids started swiping their passes to enter the gates. "It is James Rhodes, using the disguising device that he asked for last night."

Tony blinked in surprise. "Hm," he responded, scrutinizing the pair as they walked through.

"Who is the kid, then?" Tony murmured. "Rhodes never mentioned him."

"The kid is Peter Parker. Rhodes is his godfather."

Tony's lips twitched up a bit. "Let's see if this kid deserves good ol' Platypus." he murmured, walking towards the group and bringing them inside, secretly alerting the other Avengers to the whole situation.

This was going to be fun.

~ ~ ~

Peter turned in a full circle, gaping at the pristine, massive lobby accented with chrome and specks of gold and silver. It was silent and completely empty, the only sound the scuffing and clacking of shoes.

Honestly, you can tell who's more modest by listening to someone's footsteps. The rich kids swaggered, lifting each foot off the ground and placing it down with certainty. Peter, on the other hand, shuffled into the huge lobby in a science pun T-shirt and worn-out sneakers, scuffing his feet on the white marble.

Mr. Stark's voice cut through the silence smoothly. He was the only one who looked truly at ease in the quiet. Peter supposed that after a lifetime of noise and press, some silence would be nice.

"You have to sign this NDA to not release any information you learn here," he said, passing out papers. Peter held the paper with a sort of reverence until the same voice who'd been bugging him all night came back into his head. Bile rose up in his throat, and his fists clenched around the edges of the paper, crumpling it.

 _Shut up_ , he hissed at it, grabbing a pen and scribbling out his name on the signature line.

Then the papers were passed back to Mr. Stark, who folded them up and placed them into his suit coat pocket, and they started the tour.

~ ~ ~

Parker Luck strikes again.

Though this time not directly at him- not yet, at least.

He should've known better when he thought this would go by without incident.

James O'Connor was the first to fall victim to Parker Luck.

And his own stupidity.

Mr. Stark was leading them through the Tower, and the first stop was the Avengers' weapons room.

"Don't touch anything," the man instructed, and then his phone rang. He picked it up, looked at it, and rolled his eyes, answering it. "Just wander around but stay in this room." the man said, waving his hand at the cases and wandering into the corner to talk to whoever called.

Something in Peter tugged him towards a watch with a display next to it. He glanced at Rhodey, who was preoccupied staring at Tony with his eyes narrowed like he was figuring something out. With Rhodey busy, Peter wandered towards the watch, reading the display propped up next to it. Apparently, it was a watch that transformed into an Iron Man gauntlet.

Peter's breath hitched in his throat.

It was this. This was it. This is where he had to make his decision.

 _Just bring me the Iron Man gauntlet watch, and you never have to worry about money again._ The voice tempted.

Justin Hammer. Tony Stark's business rival- the reason the man had shut Avengers Tower off from the public.

That same man had talked with him last night and offered him a lifetime supply of money if he could just get the tech Stark had kept so tightly under wraps.

Peter knew he shouldn't even be thinking about it. He knew May would never want money obtained this way. Yet it was so _hard_ to ignore this offer. They'd always struggled with money, even as Rhodey offered time and time again to help. Peter had been taught to save every penny he could, and when a _lifetime_ supply of money was offered to a 15-year-old- even if that teen was Spider-Man- it was hard to ignore.

Peter's hand hovered over the watch, and he ghosted his fingers over the sleek, smooth design. Even if it was just a watch it'd be worth thousands of dollars.

Suddenly, red lights started flashing and alarms started blaring, and the hairs on Peter's neck stood straight up. He leaped away from the watch, heart hammering, and for one terrifying second, he thought he was the one who'd set off the alarm. Yet when he turned around, James was frozen like a deer in headlights, holding a weapon of some sort in his hands.

Mr. Stark strode over to the frozen boy, grabbing the weapon and placing it back in its place. "What the hell are you doing?" the man asked, fury reverberating in his voice despite his cool and collected appearance.

"I- I just wanted the weapon. It looked really cool and it's exactly what I'm looking for for my Halloween costume- and the coolest costumes get the most candy." he stammered out.

"And do you even know what that weapon does?" Mr. Stark asked as the boy shook his head.

"No, but I mean it's not like it really matters- it's just for my costume-"

"Not like it _matters_?" Mr. Stark asked furiously. "What if you accidentally set the weapon off? What then?"

James shrunk, arrogant expression falling.

"Did you know that that is one of the most powerful weapons in the world, capable of decimating Manhattan?" Mr. Stark asked, and James' eyes blew wide as he backed away fearfully from the weapon. "And you were handling it like a toy." the man finished, eyes blazing with fury.

"I'm sorry," James said meekly. 

"Sorry doesn't fix anything, and just because no one was hurt this time doesn't mean they couldn't have been. But most importantly, it proves that you cannot be trusted here. FRIDAY, dear, escort Mr. O'Connor and his guest out."

"Of course, Boss," a female voice responded, and Peter looked at the ceiling in surprise.

James opened his mouth to protest, but upon meeting the businessman's fire-filled look, and with one last glance at the weapon, he turned around and left.

As Mr. Stark turned around to lead them all out, Peter heard him mutter with his super hearing:

"One down, three to go, and the last one left will be the winner," the man murmured.

_Winner of what?_

~ ~ ~

The next to lose in Tony Stark's "game," as Peter was calling it, was Victoria Flemings, the girl obnoxiously chewing her gum. Peter felt slightly bad about it, but not really, because her chewing was the _worst_ and she was that typical gum-chewer everyone had nightmares about. Blowing bubbles, popping them, chewing loudly with her mouth open. Peter's heightened hearing was quite glad she was gone.

"This is the room where we used to make weapons, but it's since been shut down and all the stuff on these shelves are just things that were never finished, whether as a personal weapon or a weapon for the military." Mr. Stark said. "Any questions?"

"Oh hey look, someone left a stick of gum." Victoria pointed out what _looked_ to be a normal stick of gum, but didn't Mr. Stark say this shelf was weapons?

Speaking of, the man's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to stop the girl, but she was incredibly fast and unwrapped the "gum," popping it into her mouth. Tony Stark strode over to her, yanked her jaw open, and grabbed said gum, just as Victoria started seizing and she fell to the floor, looking like a dehydrated fish.

"Idiot, that was poisonous gum to be used as a personalized weapon." Mr. Stark said as Victoria's boyfriend, who'd been her guest, shrieked (a very impressive shriek, too, I will say).

"She's gonna die!" he wailed, and Mr. Stark hit the boy on the back of his head, simultaneously wiping his hand that he'd reached into Victoria's mouth with on the back of the boy's shirt, looking mildly disgusted.

"Kids." he sighed. Rhodey's lips quirked into a smile and he leaned over to whisper into Peter's ear as Mr. Stark gave Victoria the antidote and sent her out as well.

"He's up to something," Rhodey whispered as Mr. Stark paced. "He's not normally like this; this is one of his masks that he puts on when he's judging something but doesn't want people to know. He's planning something..."

~ ~ ~

 _Two more._ Peter thought.

"This is the final and most important stop in our short tour; the Vault, where I keep large amounts of my money and the newest technology." Mr. Stark explained, throwing explanations over his shoulder as he walked.

Almost simultaneously, Flash and Merryl broke away from their largely diminished group; Flash went for the money and Merryl went for the tech.

 _Have they not learned anything from the trip so far?_ the sarcastic voice in his head supplied in a snarky tone.

"Apparently not," Peter whispered under his breath, following Flash, fully prepared to grab his backpack and stop him before he did something insanely stupid.

Merryl, the girl who had walked in with her nose in her phone, had grabbed a sleek Stark Phone off the factory belt, ghosting her fingers over the tempered glass, eyes wide with awe. Flash, meanwhile, went straight for the money, grabbing it and stuffing it in his pockets.

"No- Flash, stop-" Peter scrambled, attempting to get Flash to put the money back.

"Why should I, Parker?" the other teen sneered. "It's right here for the taking. Tony Stark is a billionaire, I'm sure he won't miss it."

"Except that my security systems catch everything." Mr. Stark said. "They're Stark Tech, invented by yours truly; how can they not?" he paused. "They even catch Ms. Merryl Stone over there trying to take prototype 616 for the new Stark Phone that has not been tested and could have potentially... deadly effects." Mr. Stark said this with a completely straight face, and the two children stood there, frozen in silence until it was broken by a half snort/half laugh, and Rhodey was bent over double, laughing.

Merryl gaped at the scene in front of her. "I- name any price; I want that phone."

Mr. Stark raised his eyebrow. "Word of advice- a lot of people don't usually get what they want. While we were 'touring,' however, I did find a more interesting way to escort you and Mr. Thompson out. FRIDAY, honey, execute protocol 'take out the trash.'"

"W-Wait, Mr. Stark, what's that supposed to mea-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA" Flash was cut off as the floor beneath him and Merryl dropped out and they both fell in what would be a long, twisted, very dark slide.

 _Maybe they'll hook up on the way down._ Peter thought wryly, but his amused thoughts were cut short when a pair of polished shoes invaded his vision. He slowly looked up.

Mr. Stark stood in front of Peter. "So you're the last one." He raised a holographic projector and a video of Peter touching the watch was shown. "But not without incident."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Stark." Peter murmured. "I- Justin Hammer offered me a lifetime supply of money and I know I shouldn't have even _thought_ of it, but... I've always been taught to value money and it was hard to ignore."

There was a heavy silence in which Peter could feel Rhodey's eyes burning into the back of his skull and he knew the man was wondering why Peter hadn't told him. At the same time, Mr. Stark's cool, calculating gaze contrasted with Rhodey's burning one and Peter felt like he was trapped between the two.

"But you did ignore it." Mr. Stark said, and it was a statement, a fact. It was true; Peter had ignored the urge. "And that's what matters." he then gave a short laugh and his mask from the entire trip just... dropped and he was no longer a businessman, but rather a normal human being. "Also, platypus, terrible disguise."

Rhodey sighed in defeat. "When did you figure it out?" he asked, exasperated, as he took the device off his neck and transformed back into Rhodey.

Mr. Stark slung his arm over Rhodey's shoulders. "Oh, honey bear, I figured it out the moment you stepped through those gates."

Rhodes sighed. "And here I was, hoping to hide from you."

Mr. Stark chuckled. "Nope. You're stuck with me now." he then glanced at Peter. "Oh, yes, Mr. Parker, you won by the way."

"Oh, uh, you can call me Peter." Peter stuttered out.

Mr. Stark shrugged. "Tony," he said, extending a hand for Peter to shake, and he did, though still in a state of shock. "You're going to have to tell me how you two met," Tony said, gesturing between Rhodey and Peter.

"He's my, uh, godfather." Peter got out, gesturing to Rhodey. 

"Oh, yeah, I did know that- intel on you is very useful, by the way," Tony said, walking towards what looked like a very sleek elevator. Then, seeming to remember something, he turned around to face Peter and Rhodey, walking backwards.

"Oh yes, almost forgot, since you won, you're now heir to Stark Industries."

"I... _what_?" Peter stopped dead, and even Rhodey looked surprised.

" _That's_ what this was all about?" Rhodey asked.

"Yeah," Tony said. "Though if you'd told me you had a kid, we could've avoided this whole mess... I'm glad those kids learned some humility, though." The man stepped into the elevator and beckoned Rhodey and Peter to join him. Peter hesitated but Rhodey pushed him into the elevator before stepping in himself, completely at ease with his old friend. The elevator slid shut before silently beginning its ascent, and Peter stared in fascination as the numbers flashed by quicker than any other elevator he'd been in.

The electric blue numbers (rather than red numbers- kind of odd, Peter thought, but then again, Tony Stark was known for his eccentricities) stopped at floor 93, the top floor of the Tower. The doors opened and Tony stepped out, walking over to a huge, floor to ceiling window that allowed sunlight to stream in, giving the room a glowing and cozy atmosphere. Peter stepped out into the room and walked up to the window, staring in awe at the stunning view of New York City.

"Nice view, isn't it?" Tony asked, and Peter nodded. Rhodey snorted.

"Flying in the suit has a better view." the man said, and Tony shrugged.

"True, but my suit's not up for rent," he said.

"What if I wanted to rent mine?" Rhodey said, eyes glinting with humor.

"Yours?" Tony said mock incredulously. "I built it, I own it."

"You gave me the Iron Patriot suit-"

"Nuh-uh-uh, you _stole_ it and I never felt the need to take it back. Also, Iron Patriot is just disrespectful- it sounds like a name Captain Spangles would come up with. If you're gonna use the suit you'd better be calling it _War Machine_ -" Tony and Rhodey continued to bicker, but Peter tuned them out when he heard a soft footstep behind him and he whirled around, coming face to face with Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow.

"Uh-" he half yelped in surprise at how close she had managed to get without him noticing, and his _very dignified yelp_ , mind you, alerted the two bickering friends to break away from their argument and turn to the teen.

Peter was half expecting her to whip out a knife and threaten to stab him, or perhaps threaten to choke him with her thighs, but she didn't do either of those. Her eyes swept over him, calculating, yet they held a softness probably stemming from the fact that he was a child. (Though at the same time a petulant voice in his head supplied that he was _not a child_ , in true teenage fashion.)

"Ah, yes, kid, meet Nat, the Black Widow," Tony said.

The Widow turned to Tony with a raised eyebrow. "Did you forget his name already?"

"No." Mr. Stark said indignantly. "You know I like my nicknames."

"And your acronyms." Rhodey supplied.

"Yes, acronyms are also very important," Tony said.

Natasha did not look impressed, eyebrow still raised, and wow, didn't your face have to be really muscular to keep an eyebrow up that long? _Okay, no, Peter, we are not going there._ His mind thankfully saved him before he could blurt out something embarrassing about her having strong facial muscles.

"Anyways," Tony said, coming up behind Peter and guiding him to face Natasha directly. "Natashalie, meet Mr. Parker, the heir to Stark Industries."

Natasha, to her credit, managed to restrain her surprise, only surveying Peter more. The teen felt like a mouse trapped under a cat's gaze, and he squeaked.

"He's your kid?" she asked. It was a fair question since businesses were normally passed on through the family, but it still made Peter blush (and it was kind of awesome that the _Black Widow_ thought he was _Tony Stark's kid_ , even if only for a second).

"Oh, no, definitely not," Tony said, and Peter deflated a bit before Tony continued. "He's too pure; I would've corrupted him already. He's Rhodes' kid."

"Not my son." Rhodey corrected. "Godson."

"Hm," Natasha said noncommittally, examining Peter once more.

"This might actually be the most terrifying thing I've ever done," he whispered, and _whoops_ , did he say that out loud? Mr. Stark snorted behind him, and Rhodey let out a laugh. Natasha _looked_ like she could be smiling but _was_ that a smile? Peter couldn't really tell.

"Heh, sorry about that, I'm- I'm Peter." the teen said, extending a hand for her to shake, and she did. Peter tried to mask his terror at being scrutinized by the _Black Widow_ , and for the most part, it was working. The whole reason he wore his mask- well, one of the reasons- was so that criminals wouldn't know when he was afraid. Though Natasha probably knew that. She probably knew what he ate for breakfast that morning, just by smelling his breath or something. (Peter then started breathing out of his nose instead of his mouth.)

"Natasha Romanoff," she said, giving a small smile to appease Peter's nerves. "Nice to meet you," she said. "If you're the heir, I expect to be seeing you around?" it was more a statement than a question, and Peter gave a hesitant nod, looking over at Mr. Stark for confirmation. She then started to walk away, throwing her last words over her shoulder.

"I'm going to the gym; try not to abduct any more teenagers while I'm gone."

Rhodey snorted in amusement and Tony shook his head.

"I didn't abduct him, he came of his own free will!" he protested, but the Widow was already gone.

"Does she- uh, do _that_ often?" Peter questioned, jabbing a thumb to the door where Natasha had disappeared.

"What, creep up behind you and then scare the shit out of you for no apparent reason?" Tony asked. "Sounds about right." He then glanced at his watch. "It's about time we wrapped up here, but I do have forms and such for you to fill out saying that when you're ready the company will be passed over to you. I'll send those to you."

"In the mail, or..." Peter asked, probing a bit more. Mr. Stark snorted.

"In the _mail_? Lordy, no. Electronically, like normal human beings do things in the modern day. You're a teenager; aren't you all about tech?"

"Oh," Peter said. "Yeah." It made sense, and he felt a bit dumb for not figuring that out before. Tony glanced up at him.

"Don't worry about it kid, I have to deal with Stars and Stripes on a daily basis- he doesn't know his way around a toaster oven."

Peter gave a short chuckle, imagining the famed Captain America struggling to toast bread.

"There's also a place for you and your Aunt here if you ever need a place to crash or want to move in," Mr. Stark said, leading the way back to the elevator as Peter blinked in surprise. "And eventually, I'll have you meet all the Avengers."

"The-the Avengers?" Peter asked as the elevator began its descent. "You mean a super soldier out of time who doesn't know his way around a toaster, a world-class spy who has 36 ways to kill you figured out before she's had her morning coffee, another world-class spy who makes Katniss Everdeen look like a girl scout, a bright scientist who has an angry green bean of death under his skin, a Norse god with family issues, and a genius billionaire playboy philanthropist with a glo-stick embedded in his chest?"

(That was inspired by something similar I read in someone else's fanfic; I don't know what fanfic or the writer but I remember it had something like this. Not exactly the same tho.)

There was a moment of silence before Rhodey busted out laughing. "Good one, kiddo." his godfather said, and Tony started chuckling too.

"FRIDAY, you get that on video?" the man asked, and FRIDAY responded.

"Affirmative, boss," she said, and Tony grinned. "Good. That is the most accurate representation of the Avengers I've ever heard."

"I... had some inside information," Peter said, glancing at Rhodey.

"And I'm glad you did." the genius responded as the doors slid open and they emerged in the lobby again, this time 8 people short. "FRIDAY, are all guests out of the building other than Mr. Parker?"

"Affirmative."

"Thanks, honey," Tony said to the AI and then he led Peter and Rhodey to the door.

"Well, that concludes today's tour, but I know you'll be back," Tony said, clapping Peter's shoulder.

"All right, skeddadle there, young Buck." Mr. Stark said, shooting Peter to the door.

"Thank you, Mr. Stark, thank you," Peter said, turning and heading towards the door, gazing in wonder at the inside of the building that was to be his.

"Yeah, thank you," Tony replied, watching the kid's awe with amusement.

Rhodey grinned, following Peter. "He's a good kid."

Tony gave a grin of his own, throwing his hands up as the front door opened and he was able to spot the masses of reporters asking questions. He knew he'd never escape them; he'd have to announce the heir to the public eventually. But for now, he mused as he turned on his heel and walked back towards the elevator, shoes clacking in the now empty lobby, he can rest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... there is this wonderful comment chain idea I saw on 'A Trip to Avengers Tower' on Wattpad.
> 
> ImWoFObsessed started the wonderful chain: "Obviously Tony set this up on order to kill Flash and play it off as a casualty of being in Avengers Tower."
> 
> Then JustAnotherGirlmcg continued it with the wonderful idea of: "It's like the plot of Willy Wonka and the chocolate factory except it's Tony Stark and the Avengers tower. The Oompa Loompas are the rest of the team. Rhodey plays Peter's grandfather, just patting him on the shoulder and telling him to go with Tony's antics."
> 
> WhiteInspiration "I live for this, I would totally read this shit 😂😂 like, heir for stark industries wanted (already chosen) and then the competition and the casualties 😂😂"
> 
> stellaLikesSpiderkid "this is late but that willy wonka shit..
> 
> flash: *is getting choked by tony, or nat, whOEVER GETS TO FLASH FIRST-*everyone: *does a full dance routine* OOMPA LOOMPA, DOOPITY DOO-"
> 
> And yeah. As you can see, the Avengers didn't exactly get fit in there other than Nat, but that's because I tried and it just ended up awkward and not following the flow properly so I cut it out.


	9. Peter's Friend Meets the Avengers (REQUEST)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a request for F4fanatic... their OC Jack is one of the main characters here! He's Peter's friend, and, well, as the title says... he meets the Avengers! (spoiler- There's a food fight)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is a request from F4fanatic here on Ao3! Hope you enjoy it!
> 
>  
> 
> I was singing 'Baby Stark' doo doo doodoodoo until I got to 'Daddy Stark' and became sad cuz Tony is dead.

Peter was woken when he was spontaneously lifted out of his warm bed and dumped unceremoniously on the ground in a heap of sprawling limbs. He yelped, opening his eyes to a red haze and the sound of chuckling.

"Wakey wakey little spider." a female voice, laced with a strong Sokovian accent, floated into his ears. 

"No, go away Wanda," he muttered grumpily, exhausted from staying up extremely late last night. He heard footsteps walk away and he drifted off into blissful sleep again, barely registering the sound of running water or the footsteps coming back until a bucket of cold water was thrown over him and he shouted, bolting upright, wide awake and completely soaked. His sort-of-but-not-really-adopted-sister was standing with the now-empty bucket, looking at him.

"It's a school day." she reminded him, and Peter groaned, heading to the bathroom and peeling off the wet shirt clinging to his skin on the way.

"I hate Mondays," he grumbled.

"Maybe don't stay up till 4 AM watching Stranger Things next time," Wanda suggested, voice laced with humor, and he whipped around. 

"Hey!" he protested, referring to her having read his mind to get that information.

She rolled her eyes. "I didn't even have to read your mind, dude. You're literally emitting grumpiness from no sleep and sadness over the last episode."

"The new season just came out, of course I had to binge-watch it! Also, it was sad!" Peter protested, and Wanda chuckled and ruffled his wet hair.

(To be clear, I literally haven't watched Stranger Things yet, only the first episode of the first season. This is just going off of what I've heard from other people.)

"Take your shower and get ready quickly; Nat and Bucky are making breakfast today," she said, and Peter bolted to the bathroom to get ready. It was well known in the Tower that when those two teamed up to make a meal, it tasted like literal heaven. Peter suspected it had something to do with how they both had to travel the world as assassins, picking up on different cultures and foods when they were on their missions.

Either way, it called for a quick shower.

~ ~ ~

Peter skidded out into the hallway at 7:20, almost knocking over Aunt May in the process.

"Whoa there, slow down." Aunt May laughed. "I was just coming in to check if you were awake."

Peter sighed ruefully. "Wanda took care of that."

"She dumped a bucket of water on you again, didn't she?" Aunt May asked, chuckling, and Peter nodded. "Oh, Pete, when do you ever learn?"

"Never, apparently," he muttered as they both walked towards the kitchen, breathing in the heavenly smell of freshly baked pancakes.

Peter and May had both moved to Avengers Tower when an arsonist, having seen Peter crawling through his window one night, tried to take out Spider-Man. He had inevitably been captured and Dr. Strange had wiped his memory of Spider-Man's identity, but May didn't have enough money collected to buy an entirely new apartment in such short notice. Tony saw the fire on the news, days after it had happened because both May and Peter were too stubborn to come to him and ask for help. He found that they were living in an old, run-down shack and ultimately decided to invite them into the Tower. May was reluctant at first, being the strong-willed woman she was, and she was unwilling to put all her trust in a man she barely knew, especially when she was used to doing things herself. However, when Stark pointed out how thin Peter had become, even in those few days, because of his increased metabolism, she knew that she had to do what was best for her nephew. So she put her beliefs of struggling through on her own to the side and accepted help from the billionaire, because it wasn't just her but Peter that she was putting at risk. 

Another one of the reasons Peter adored her.

As the duo walked into the kitchen, Peter's spider-sense alerted him of something heading his way, though not something particularly dangerous. He whipped around and grabbed it, realizing it was a pancake that had been aimed at his face. He looked at it, then stuffed it in his mouth and ate it. An indignant squawk made Peter turn around, a smirk on his face, as he looked at the archer who'd thrown it.

"I'll get you next time." the man threatened halfheartedly, both knowing very well that he wouldn't. Ever since they'd moved to the Tower and Clint found out about his spider-sense, it'd been his goal to prove that it wasn't always accurate. They'd all outlawed doing it while Peter was asleep because when Clint tried that he got busted through several walls and Peter wasn't able to sleep the rest of the night from the adrenaline rush. However, when he was half asleep in the morning was fair game.

"Yeah, sure you will," Peter said, grabbing around 15 pancakes and heading towards the far wall to the top corner of the ceiling where a permanent web hammock was strung. He passed a half-asleep Tony Stark on the way; the man was clutching his coffee like it was the elixir of life.

"Hey Mr. Stark," he said as he passed.

"Hey kid." the man replied, not looking up from his holographic tablet as he swiped the top pancake off of Peter's pile and started eating it, giving a smirk when he heard Peter's indignant squawk. Though Peter wasn't really surprised, given that this happened basically every meal (he made a point to always grab extras because he knew Mr. Stark would take some).

Peter made it into his hammock successfully, not spilling any pancakes this time (he was very sad last time when he spilled all of them on the floor while climbing up). He sat cross-legged, munching on the pancakes and putting obnoxiously large amounts of syrup on them as he observed the normal, everyday bustle that was the Avengers' kitchen.

Bruce had come in, taking a seat next to Tony and snagging his own coffee, suggesting different improvements on whatever it was Tony was working on. He was dressed in a rumpled lab coat and his glasses were slightly askew, leading Peter to believe the man had pulled another all-nighter working on yet another project.

Clint, like Peter, had his own little perch area, though his was a shelf of sorts stationed above the fridge, with a clear view of the entire kitchen. Tony had installed it when he got tired of Clint climbing on the counters or other ledges protruding in the kitchen. He was sitting there now, scanning the room and crunching on an apple. There was also a vent stationed right above his head for whenever he felt like leaving, and Peter was waiting for the perfect day to use that vent in a prank of his against the archer.

Natasha and Bucky had finished making breakfast and were now sitting next to each other, deep in conversation about some new weapon or something. Nat had a pen and paper and was sketching out said weapon while she was eating, and Peter knew that by the end of breakfast she'd have finished and will have passed it to Tony to build before he huddles in his lab the rest of the day.

Steve had recently returned from his morning run, once again wearing a shirt that was too tight for him, and he sat down at the table with Sam, near Natasha and Bucky, seamlessly joining their conversation like he did every morning, no matter how odd the topic may be.

Thor and his brother Loki were out, meeting with their father Odin about some business on Asgard- some official ceremony or whatnot. Though if they had been here, the Poptart supply would be exhausted and there would most likely be a shattered mug on the floor by the end of the day. Peter liked Thor, though- he was really nice to him and had shown him several Asgardian artifacts, which Peter thought was really cool and he tried to figure out how they worked scientifically. Loki was also really cool, and nicer than people had painted his image originally. He'd taught Peter some of the Asgardian language and showed him the science behind several spells.

Wanda was sitting right below his web hammock, eating pancakes of her own and entertaining herself by using her powers to make the fruit in the fruit bowl rise into the air and trying to set it back down in different patterns. Aunt May was sitting next to the fruit bowl, watching in fascination, and Vision was floating next to her, offering Wanda pointers.

And Scott was sometimes here, but more often at his house with his daughter Cassie. She hadn't wanted to move to the Tower because she had friends where she was, but she did visit from time to time with her dad and she enjoyed stealing Scott's Pym Particles to turn her and Peter tiny so they could play in lego castles that they'd built. Scott tried to get them to stop using the particles like that, but more often than not, he'd cave in and join the fun too, shrinking and playing with them in the lego castles until they used up their supply of particles. Then poor Scott had to go explain to Hank Pym why he'd run out of a supply that should've lasted him a while, coming up with more and more elaborate excuses every time. Hank pretended to believe them, though he knew the truth and he really just had a soft spot for Cassie so he didn't really mind (though he did find the excuses humorous so he didn't tell Scott he knew).

Peter finished up his pancakes, and, glancing at the time, saw that it was 7:30. He jumped out of his hammock and grabbed his backpack, phone, and earbuds, slipping on his tattered shoes (that Tony had insisted on trashing and getting new ones, but Peter liked his shoes).

"Bye!" he called to everyone after pressing the elevator button. He heard a chorus of 'bye's from the rest of the Avengers. Aunt May came over to give him a hug and shove his forgotten lunch in his hand.

"Your new friend is coming over tonight, right?" Natasha asked as the elevator doors opened. "What's his name again?"

"Jack," Peter replied. "He's the new kid and I was assigned to give him the tour of the school. He's actually really nice, I think you all will like him."

"I just hope I can get him to call me Tony instead of _Mr. Stark_ , like you still do, kid. I don't understand why you keep doing that; we've known each other for 3 years already," Tony grumbled.

"I am a polite child, Mr. Stark," Peter said, humor laced into his voice.

"Yeah, well, you're going to be a late child," Tony said, referring to the time.

"Oh shit," Peter mumbled, darting into the elevator.

"Mr. Stars and Spangles doesn't like that. Watch your gosh darn language." Tony snarked, a grin on his face, and the elevator doors closed with an exasperated Steve Rogers sighing.

" _Tony._ "

~ ~ ~

Peter bounded through his school doors 5 minutes early, thanks to his super speed. He spotted three people clustered around his locker, chatting. Well, two of them were chatting. MJ was leaning against the lockers reading a book. Peter bounded up to them.

"Hey guys!" he said, and Ned and Jack stopped their conversation to turn to the newly arrived boy. Jack grinned and opened his mouth to say something but was beat to it by MJ.

"About time, loser. If you got another tardiness on your record I'd have to kick you off Decathlon," she said dryly. "Even Flash has been showing up more than you, and that's saying something." 

Peter made a mock surprised face. "Flash is on the team? Didn't know he had the IQ level." While Peter may have been too nice to say this to Flash's face (and he still had to play the role of the weak nerd), he wasn't against insulting Flash behind his back. I mean, come on, the guy made his life living hell; he should get a bit of payback.

MJ snorted, glancing at the clock and slamming her book closed. "He doesn't. Money will do wondrous things- society is all rigged. Can't wait for the sun to blow up and destroy humanity." she said, walking off to her first-period class; she was in AP Literature while Peter, Ned, and Jack were not. Peter may be a genius, but reading about old white dudes just made him fall asleep. He wasn't sure how MJ found it even remotely enjoyable.

He turned to Jack and Ned. "Ready to go die of boredom listening to Mr. Hartfield drone on about how Shakespeare was a brilliant human being?" he asked dryly.

"If he was so brilliant, he should've written in normal, comprehensible English," Jack muttered, and Peter snorted out a laugh. At 5'11", the boy towered over both him and Ned, making Peter have to crane his neck slightly to look him in the eye. He had an average build with brown hair and brown eyes like Peter. And the guy was interested in quite a few things. He loved Power Rangers (he actually had a Power Rangers shirt on right then) and the Avengers (he'd stated time and time again that Cap, Tony, Wanda, Natasha, and Bucky were his favorites.) He also liked playing guitar, flying planes (after the whole Vulture incident, Peter had to disagree with him there), and tinkering with cars (that much he could agree with).

"Well, you do have to consider that their English was different than ours back then," Ned said, and Jack shrugged.

"Yeah, but I'm still pretty sure they didn't talk in rhymes."

"Probably not." Ned conceded.

Peter then proceeded to make a horrified face. "Oh no, we're talking about Shakespeare _willingly_ outside of class, Mr. Hartfield has brainwashed us all," he said in a spooky narrator voice for no reason at all, causing Jack and Ned to chortle as they walked into the classroom, commencing their first hour of hell.

~ ~ ~

Jack didn't actually know he was going to the Tower yet today; Ned, MJ, and Peter had planned it with his parents, and, due to his fanboying, they decided to make it a surprise.

So, as they all walked out of the school at 3 PM, Jack turned to take his normal route home as they all said their final goodbyes and split up (Ned and MJ had decided not to go this time, as they've been plenty of other times). But Peter tapped him on the shoulder, and the boy turned around, confused.

"You're coming with me today," Peter said.

"What?" Jack said, very confused.

"Don't worry, I coordinated with your parents and the Avengers already; you're coming with me today to get the tour of the Tower I promised you a while back; your parents will pick you up at 9 PM," Peter said, watching as Jack's face turned from one of utter confusion to restrained joy.

"Wait- this isn't a joke, is it? You're being serious? I'm actually going today? _Today_?" Jack started freaking out as Peter nodded, laughing.

"Dude, chill out, this is why I didn't tell you earlier. Oh hey, Happy's here." Peter pointed to the sleek black car that had pulled up, and Jack looked 0.2 seconds away from passing out on the spot.

"This is so cool. Did you see all those theories where-" Jack continued to run his mouth as he slid into the car beside Peter. 

Happy took one look at them from the front seat and muttered: "Oh no, there's another one."

Peter merely chuckled as he joined in the conversation, ignoring Happy's exasperated sigh and not looking at all fazed as the glass divider slid up.

~ ~ ~

As they drove closer and closer to Avengers Tower, Jack spoke less and less, opting to stare in wonder at the tall, chrome building instead.

Happy drove the car into the private parking garage, stopping the car and turning off the engine. Peter opened the door and slid out, shouting a 'Thanks, Happy!' over his shoulder as he bounded inside the building with Jack trailing slowly behind him, mouth still open in awe. Happy grumbled a 'You're welcome, kid' in response, and though he'd never admit it, the words had an undertone of fondness to them.

Peter gave Jack a mini-tour as they were walking towards the elevator. "And then there's FRIDAY, who is Mr. Stark's personal AI."

"Hello, Peter." the AI said warmly. "And you must be Jack," she said, speaking to the taller boy.

"Yeah," Jack said quietly, once again in awe. Peter had _such_ an awesome life.

"I'm FRIDAY, or Female Replacement Intelligent Digital Assistant Youth. But everyone mostly calls me Fri for short."

"Like french fries..." Jack muttered, face flushing when he realized he'd said that out loud. Luckily, FRIDAY was amused, letting out a chuckle that sounded oddly human, with the slightest robotic whir to it. Jack was- once again- amazed at how Tony Stark could create all these incredible, life-changing machines and virtually no one knew about them. A lot of people were still stuck on the potential of Stark Industries selling weapons, completely ignorant that there was so much more that could be done with Tony Stark's mind.

FRIDAY's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, still holding that amused undertone. "Unfortunately no, not like french fries. I wish I could taste, though, Peter says they taste wonderful..." Jack tried not to dwell on the wistful or perhaps even sad tone FRIDAY had now, instead opting to agree with the latter statement.

"They are pretty good."

Peter broke the silence that followed by asking FRIDAY to take them up to the communal floor. He then turned to Jack. "Okay, don't freak out. All the Avengers are in the communal room right now."

" _Right now_?" Jack said, eyes wide. Peter nodded. 

"Don't worry, they know about you. Don't be intimidated; they're not scary at all. Just be yourself."

" _Don't be intimidated_?" Jack hissed. "Peter, the entire _point_ of the Avengers is for them to be intimidating!" He wasn't freaking out, not in the slightest, no, not at all.

And then the elevator doors slid open, and he was left facing the World's Mightiest Heroes, sprawled out over the living room couches or chattering in the kitchen in all their glory, and he was paralyzed in terror, staring at the people he'd idolized his whole life but never believed he'd be fortunate enough to meet.

Natasha Romanoff- _Natasha fucking Romanoff, the kick-ass Black Widow_ \- was the first to notice him and Peter, and she was stretched out on a couch languidly, hazel eyes tracking their movements, probably assessing different ways to take them down. She gave them a grin that was in equal parts charming as it was terrifying. Her eyes flicked over Peter, softening with familiarity before flicking over to him, taking in every bit of knowledge that was presented in his scruffy, 5'11" body. Obviously not considering him a threat, she called out to the other Avengers, who turned to greet Peter with varying amounts of softness in their voices. Jack wondered if Natasha subconsciously assessed people the moment they walked in, or whether it was a conscious decision. 

"You must be Jack." a soft female voice with a heavy Sokovian accent said, and he looked up to meet the eyes of the Scarlet Witch, Wanda Maximoff.

"Yeah," he said quietly, a bit unnerved at how everyone in the room was taking notice of him all at once, their gazes pinning him down until he felt immobilized. Wanda luckily broke that tension with a warm smile that eased his nerves.

"Peter's told us a lot about you!" she said, grabbing his and Peter's arms and dragging them towards the couch to talk sitting down. Normally, Jack would be freaking out if any Avenger grabbed him by the arm, but his brain had gone into overload and had apparently decided to shove any new and surprising things to the back of his conscious mind so he could freak out about them some other day.

"All good things, I'd hope?" he asked sheepishly. Wanda grinned at him while Peter feigned mock hurt.

"You think I'd betray you?" he asked, a hand placed over his heart. "Oh, the pain. How will I ever go on after this new development?" his voice dripped with sarcasm as both Wanda and Jack laughed.

"No, no. All great things." Wanda reassured him. "But not much because he wanted you to have the opportunity to introduce yourself. Though no guarantees that Stark or Romanoff haven't dug up all your personal information overnight," she said, a bit ruefully. "It's their thing."

Peter snorted in amusement, and Jack gave a bit of a nervous chuckle, not sure whether to be elated that the Avengers knew who he was or a bit creeped out. He opted for both.

"Well, I like playing guitar, tinkering with cars, and flying planes." he hesitated, not wanting to sound childish, before blurting out that he liked Power Rangers as well. It must've been the right decision because Wanda's face lit up like a kid's on Christmas day.

"I love that movie!" she said. "Also, if you like tinkering with cars you should talk to Stark, he's into that sort of thing. And I know that Barnes likes to play guitar as well," she said, and almost as soon as she said that, the Winter Soldier showed up right behind her, grinning at Jack. It was a bit awkward and lopsided, like he wasn't used to smiling at people or being social, but Jack found himself smiling back.

"Another guitar player?" he asked, eyes glinting as Jack nodded. "Thank goodness, no one here knows how to play and it gets boring doing solos all the time." Jack gaped. _Did James Buchanan Barnes just ask to play guitar with him?_

Apparently so, because the man continued to speak. "If you want, we could play together sometime? All the most interesting music really needs two people to play, and having Fri play one of those parts is nowhere as interesting as having another human play with you."

"I- that'd be _amazing_ Mr. Barnes," Jack admitted, awestruck at the very thought of it.

"Ah, no, no formalities, please, it makes me sound as old as I am and that is, quite frankly, terrifying," Barnes said, shuddering briefly. "Call me Bucky."

"Bucky..." Jack tried out, chills running down his spine at the thought that he was on a first-name basis with an Avenger.

Bucky grinned. "There you go, kid, you got the idea. And thank god you're not like Peter, who continued to use formalities for _months_ after meeting us."

Peter groaned in annoyance. "Oh come on, I was raised to be polite!" Bucky merely gave him a cheeky grin and ruffled his hair.

"And the first-name thing goes for the rest of us, too." Wanda piped in. "Especially for Stark, who's still sour about Peter calling him Mr. Stark despite knowing him the longest. Call me Wanda."

Peter pouted at the obvious jab towards him, but he wasn't really angry. Jack was slightly dizzy at how fast this was all progressing and thought that maybe it was one whole crazy dream that he'd wake up from in a couple of minutes. But so far it wasn't a dream, and he'd make the most out of this experience while he still could.

"Come on, wanna play a video game?" Wanda said, leaning over to grab three controllers and pass two to him and Peter, keeping the third for herself. "What game?"

"What do you say to a round of Mario Kart?" Jack asked, grinning at his friend and Wanda.

~ ~ ~

One round became 2, then 3, then 4, 5 and so on. You get the point. During the course of those games and the shouting it no doubt entailed, the rest of the Avengers came up and introduced themselves.

The first was Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, which Peter and Jack both found surprising, given how he was looking at the video game like it'd implode at any second. Guess he was still wary of electronics. Jack ended up completely losing that round because he was gaping at the super-soldier instead, but he didn't really mind. Both Peter and Wanda seemed to find his speechlessness amusing, and they kept giggling and making bets on who would leave him speechless for the longest. Jack knew that would be Natasha because she emits a powerful presence that he'd never dare to speak in (he still wasn't sure how Peter did), but he didn't tell the duo that.

Jack would never admit to having favorite Avengers, especially in the Avengers' presence, but several of them did hold a special place inside of him for reasons that they were the most relatable. And so far, he'd met every single one of them except for Tony Stark. He'd met Steve, Wanda, Natasha, and Bucky, but not Tony. And while he loved Wanda and Natasha because they were kickass women on a team of superheroes, he also loved Tony for, first off, getting him into the hobby of tinkering with cars and flying planes, and second, because he was the most human superhero. The only thing special about him was his genius intellect. No super serum, no Russian spy training, no flickery red powers. Just his brain, and yet he managed to do so much with it.

Natasha came around and introduced herself properly when they were wrapping up the game; she was too wise to try and walk into the middle of all that. As he'd predicted, he could barely speak in her presence, and he swore he could see an amused smile flickering across her indifferent mask for a minute as he stammered out an introduction. Peter merely patted him on the shoulder, grinning and assuring him that it got easier as his anxiety slowly receded. Then, Peter jumped up, eyes lighting, and announced that Jack had to meet Tony, and oh no, the anxiety was returning at the thought of meeting his role model. Peter then abandoned the controller and dragged Jack down the stairs to what seemed like Tony's personal lab, Jack shooting Wanda and apologetic look on the way out. She just grinned and shrugged, switching the game to a solo one and continuing to play.

Jack and Peter descended the stairway until they reached a door; Peter placed his hand on the hand scanner and the aforementioned door slid open, allowing loud rock music to blast Jack's ears. He winced, blinking gratefully when the sound reached a bearable level.

"Hey Pete." a voice called from the other end of the lab, and Jack's head twisted in that direction so quickly he felt his neck crack. Tony Stark was kneeling at the base of an Iron Man suit, either disassembling or assembling (Jack couldn't tell) one of the foot repulsors.

"Hi Mr. Stark!" Peter chirped, ignoring Tony's annoyed grumble to stop calling him 'Mr. Stark.' "Jack's here today." At this, the music fully turned off and the man finally turned his head to look at the two teenagers in his lab. He got up, joints cracking and muttering something about being too old to do this stuff (though everyone knew he'd never actually give it up).

He wiped his hands off on a grease-stained cloth, throwing it on a table as he passed it. He walked to the two teens and held out his hand to shake. Awestruck, Jack did, noting that he was wearing very different attire as opposed to what he usually wore to press conferences. Jack knew that, logically, he wouldn't be in a suit 24/7, but when that's all anyone had ever really seen him in, it was jarring to see him in nothing but an oil-stained tank top and sweatpants. He still had his signature aura, though.

"Jack, right?" the man asked, starting the conversation despite already knowing his name. Jack nodded. "Alright, the first rule when you're in my presence: call me Tony, Mr. Stark makes me sound like some stuffy old white dude, like my dad," Tony muttered the last part "and while I may look like an old stuffy white dude, I'm not running for a political position. Nor do I want to, so if you're looking for someone like that, go to the recent elections and you'll find an abundance of them to choose from. I am one of a kind- namely, much more interesting."

"Mr. Stark," Peter sighed. Tony fixed him with a severe look, and, were it not for Peter not looking like he was about to laugh, Jack would have thought he was actually mad. Luckily for Jack's peace of mind, Peter was much worse at masking his emotions than the billionaire was.

"Nuh-uh-uh, what did I just say, kiddo. I thought we'd been over this- did you even hear what I said?"

"I heard you, I just didn't listen," Peter said, grinning. Jack looked at his classmate- half with awe, half with confusion. He wasn't sure how Peter could ever talk to Iron Man like that, but he supposed he had been Tony's intern for 3 years already. At least the man didn't look mad.

"He's a bad influence, don't listen to him," Tony said, waving his hand at Peter.

"I've had worse influences," Jack reassured him.

"Yeah, yeah, he's a good kid. Most of the time, at least." Tony said, fixing another severe look at Peter as the boy laughed into his hand. "So, while Peter over there is getting himself back in some vague form of control, tell me what you like to do. We've got like 15 minutes before dinner starts- you're invited in case no one told you, by the way- and then you've got to go, right?"

Jack looked at his phone, blinking when he saw it was 7:45 PM already. It was really late for dinner, and he hadn't even realized it had gotten that late. He had to leave at 9, and now that he thought about it, he was really really hungry. "Yeah." he said, "I have to leave at 9."

"Right, yeah, yeah, you're fine," Tony said, waving a hand. "Normally I wouldn't mind if you were late, given that time is irrelevant in the face of things, but the rest of the team is big on first impressions and they'd kick my ass if you were late home on your first day of being here. Or, well, they'd try, but I'd end up kicking their asses instead."

"Oh please, Mr. Stark, you're getting too old for that," Peter called from across the lab where he was fiddling with something.

"First, I'm insulted that you called me old, kiddo, and second, that's why I've got you. You're young and limber and you'd beat their asses in the name of Team Iron Man."

Peter looked up, smirking. "What if I've switched to Team Cap as recompense for stealing Steve's shield?"

"You would never."

Peter shrugged, "You don't know that." 

They both stared at each other seriously for a solid 7 seconds while Jack stood awkwardly to the side before Peter broke down in giggles at the sight of Tony's betrayed face.

"No, no, you're right Mr. Stark, I wouldn't do that."

Jack was just confused on so many levels. How would Peter Parker, a normal teenager, take down the Avengers? And how did he steal Captain America's shield? He shrugged it off as an inside joke, deciding that he'd never really understand the relationship between Peter and the superhero team.

The door to the lab slid open and Steve poked his head in. "Dinner's ready." he called out to the trio. Peter bounded upstairs and past the super-soldier to the promise of food, and Steve's eyes trailed after him, amusement showing in them. He then locked eyes with Jack. "You're welcome to join us until you have to go." he offered.

Tony walked past him on the way upstairs. "A little late on the uptake, Capsicle, already offered to the kid and he said yes." Cap shrugged.

"Can't hurt to offer twice." 

Jack followed the bickering duo up the twisting stairs, breathing in the delicious smell of food and taking in the sight of the Avengers seated around a huge table. Peter locked eyes with him and grinned, motioning to an empty seat between him and Wanda. Jack took a seat, eyes wide as he took in the amount of food piled high on the giant table. Peter noticed his look and shrugged.

"We eat a lot."

Jack scored his eyes over all the food, picking out what he'd possibly want to eat and what looked good. He was wondering how the hell anyone got their food, seeing how much of it there was, but those questions were answered when a red mist picked up the exact food he'd wanted and placed it on his plate; the same thing happening with everyone else. He was the only one who looked surprised- everyone else just considered it normal and started eating their food. Jack glanced at Wanda, who'd done it in the first place, and she gave him a smile.

"There's a lot of food and it was an easier way to distribute than what we had before, where everyone was reaching at once," she explained. "This was a way for me to practice my powers and their strengths, only delving into the very surface of someone's mind to see what they want to eat while blocking everything else out. And then, of course, actually distributing said food with my powers." 

Jack tilted his head to the side, nodding. It made sense. However, one person's empty plate caught his eye, and he noticed it was Tony's. He hesitated, not sure whether he wanted to ask or not, but Wanda followed his gaze anyways and nodded.

"He still doesn't entirely trust my powers, which, given his first impression of them, I understand," she said, the tiniest bit of sadness lacing her voice. "But at least I'll know that the day he lets me do it is the day he finally fully trusts me," she said, smiling faintly. "And I can wait for that day."

Jack simply nodded, not having any words for the occasion, and he bit into his food instead.

The table was filled with laughter and overlapping voices, loud and soft, strong and meek, and he allowed himself to smile and enjoy it. Tony was arguing with Steve about the best dressing to put on a salad, while Peter and Natasha were chipping in with their opinions. Peter's Aunt May was at his side, and, when asked, said she couldn't cook so she wouldn't even join the argument. Wanda attempted to break up the argument by softly flinging something with her powers, but that just initiated a food fight. And Jack joined in, grinning and laughing, not caring that he had bits of bread crumb in his hair or just had sandwich meat flung in his face or that he'd just squirted ketchup at the Black Widow and had survived (albeit covered in a substantially larger amount of ketchup than before). He didn't care for the inquiring look his parents sent him when they finally did pick him up, or the giant grin that was plastered across his face for the rest of the night.

Because for that one, perfect hour, he was at the Avengers' dinner table, having the best time of his life. And for those few moments, he could imagine that he was a part of the Avengers' family, no matter how large and dysfunctional it may be.

Needless to say, that was the best night of his life, and, well, he's got a picture frame of the food fight on his bedside table for the next time Flash tries to accuse Peter of not knowing the Avengers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it's done!!! I really had fun writing it, and I hope you all enjoyed it!
> 
>  
> 
> Also, random question (or not so random given the fact that I come up with a new story idea every single time I write a new chapter)... there's this book I've really really really wanted to do at some point; it was going to be a oneshot right after this one, but I realized you can't fit all the shit Tony's gone through into one chapter. It'd be inspired by the movie Inside Out and the fanfic Vital for Understanding on FF (it's really really good, you should read it.) So basically here's the summary of mine:
> 
> Tony Stark.
> 
> An egotistical playboy genius; it didn't get any more complex than that.
> 
> Or so the Avengers thought.
> 
> On a particularly bad day for Wanda Maximoff, she lashes out at Tony with her powers and emotions, inadvertently causing their minds to be connected and his memories (and the feelings accompanying those) to be projected out at the Avengers.
> 
> While they feel merely a shadow of the original pain, Wanda is directly connected and feels the full blast of Tony's emotions, in both the past and present.
> 
> Will the newfound knowledge garner Tony the respect that has been denied to him from his legacy as the Merchant of Death?
> 
> Or will his shattered mask, created to protect him, destroy the relationship the Avengers have carefully attempted to rebuild in the wake of the superhero Civil War?
> 
>  
> 
> Would you all read that or no?


End file.
